GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie argued that Republicans who don’t make the debate stage should drop out of the 2024 race. Christie declared that “It’s time to go” for the candidates who “haven’t made the debate stage” at the first GOP presidential primary debate in Milwaukee.
So far, eight candidates in the crowded GOP field have met the Republican National Committee’s criteria to participate in debates. Those candidates are Christie, former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.
Under Christie’s suggestion, GOP presidential candidates such as Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, Larry Elder, former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson, and former congressman Will Hurd of Texas, should drop out.
To date, DeSantis, Ramaswamy, and Haley have signed a mandatory Republican National Committee pledge to support the eventual Republican nominee. Any candidate who fails to sign the pledge will be barred from participating in any RNC-sanctioned debates. Trump has indicated that he would not sign the pledge and has floated the idea of skipping the debates.
Christie has attacked Trump over his suggestions that he wouldn’t attend the debates. The former New Jersey governor argued that Trump is a “coward” if he misses the debates and said the former president is “particularly scared of standing on that stage with me.”
In a Fox News interview on Wednesday, Christie said the debate “means a lot for me and every other candidate. It’s going to be the biggest audience any of us have spoken before in a long time. It’s important for people to get to know you, to know who you are, what you want to do for the party and for the country. And that’s exactly what I intend to do in two weeks.”
Christie later had a blunt suggestion for struggling GOP candidates unable to make it to the debate stage. “If you don’t make the debate stage, you should leave the field. I think it’s that simple. That’s the first winnowing process.”
Christie cited the RNC’s criteria for making the debate stage, such as meeting financial and polling requirements. “I think these objectives were fair ones to reach, to be able to get on the stage. And if you haven’t made the stage. I think it’s time to go.”
The first GOP presidential primary debate is set to take place on Aug. 23 at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
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