Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie made his annoyance with Hugh Hewitt crystal clear during a contentious Thursday morning clash, telling the conservative radio host that this was the least “substantive” interview he’s ever done.
With most GOP polls showing the former New Jersey governor stuck in the low single digits and Christie seemingly placing all his hopes on a decent showing in the early primary state of New Hampshire, Hewitt continually pressed Christie to drop out and give other candidates a better shot at beating Donald Trump.
While Hewitt tried to convince Christie to bow out and give former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley a boost ahead of New Hampshire’s primary, the right-wing talker insisted he is neutral in the race, repeatedly describing himself as “Switzerland” throughout the interview.
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Christie, meanwhile, only grew more irritated with Hewitt the longer the conversation went on, especially when the host kept pushing the ex-governor to endorse Trump if the former president is the GOP nominee—something the former New Jersey governor has unequivocally said he will not do.
In fact, on the same day that he called into Hewitt’s show, Christie released a campaign ad admitting that he regretted endorsing Trump for president in 2016. In the TV spot, Christie also said that critics advising low-polling candidates to drop out shouldn’t be “acceptable” to voters as it would inevitably set up a Trump-Biden rematch.
At the very top of the interview, Hewitt appeared to get under his guest’s skin by referencing Christie’s recent appearance on daytime talk show The View.
“I’m not The View. You’re not going to put this over on me,” Hewitt said. “Your staying in the primary undeniably helps Donald Trump get the election, doesn’t it?”
After Christie disagreed with that notion, Hewitt then brought up conservative pundit Noah Rothman’s recent claim that Christie staying in the race is “hurting Nikki Haley” and “doing profound reputational harm to himself,” adding that there’s no “upside” to Christie’s candidacy.
“Well, first of all, you know, Noah doesn’t have the first idea of what he’s talking about,” a clearly annoyed Christie responded. “The fact is that I’m running for president of the United States, and no one’s voted yet. And I don’t have an obligation to do anything other than to answer questions, tell the truth, run a good campaign, and try to win. And so you know, where this has become Nikki Haley’s campaign when no one’s voted yet is kind of a mystery to me, Hugh.”
Insisting that he wasn’t advocating for Haley, whom Christie has been highly critical of, Hewitt then referred to himself as “Switzerland” before going on a tangent about mathematics and equations, only furthering Christie’s annoyance.
“I don’t know whose campaign it is, but I do algebra. I used to do algebra. I’m not going to say that anymore. You might ask me something. But I can do math, and if Chris Christie drops out, someone’s going to benefit not named Donald Trump. Isn’t that undeniable?” Hewitt rambled.
“We don’t know what’s going to happen here, and the idea that somehow this is an algebra equation, this is not,” Christie sighed at one point. “This is finite math.”
Hewitt, meanwhile, retorted “this is an algebra equation from Switzerland” before once again pressuring Christie to drop out in order to send his supporters over the Haley. “If Nikki Haley loses New Hampshire by 5 percent, and you’ve got 10 percent or more, you will have elected Donald Trump president. Are you OK with that?” Hewitt asked.
After much more of this back and forth, Hewitt pivoted to Christie’s repeated assertion that he would not endorse Trump for president if the ex-president wins the nomination.
“Hugh, this is not news,” Christie declared. “I’ve been saying this from the beginning. I’m the guy who didn’t raise my hand on the stage when they asked me if you would support him if he was a convicted felon.”
With Hewitt wondering if Christie was still “hedging his bets,” the former governor then lashed out: “I have to tell you the truth, Hugh. You have interviewed me probably a hundred times. I’ve never had a less substantive interview with you in my life.”
Hewitt pushed back, saying this was “actually the most substantive interview,” prompting Christie to strongly disagree.
“No. This is not news, Hugh,” he huffed. “I didn’t raise my hand in August. You think you’re making news here, then you’re not paying attention.”
On and on it went. Hewitt thought perhaps Christie could find a way to support Trump if the former president somehow escapes conviction on dozens of felony charges, while the former prosecutor flatly said he couldn’t accept Hewitt’s premise.
Even at the end of the conversation, Christie continued to lash out at the host.
“When are you going to tell us what the final decision is on whether you’re staying in New Hampshire or not?” Hewitt asked.
“I don’t even understand your question,” Christie grumbled.
“Everybody is waiting for you to drop out. I talk to Republicans across the country because I’m Switzerland. Everyone talks to me. They all think you’re going to drop out,” Hewitt countered.
“Well, good for them,” the ex-governor concluded.
