Chris Christie, the sole anti-Trump Republican presidential candidate, announced his withdrawal from the presidential race amid modest popularity according to polls.
In a speech delivered to a crowd of supporters in Windham, New Hampshire, Christie said, "I am suspending my campaign for the presidency of the United States," just four days before the Iowa primary elections.
Christie, 61, the former governor of New Jersey, was a Trump supporter but became one of his fiercest Republican critics, accusing the former president of being "self-centered and lacking integrity."
American media reported that it is not expected that Christie will endorse any of the potential Republican presidential candidates. However, observers believe his withdrawal from the presidential race will provide room for Nikki Haley, the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and former governor of South Carolina, to garner more support among voters who oppose Trump's nomination.
Christie, a former federal prosecutor, ran in the 2016 elections but ended his campaign after a disappointing result in the New Hampshire primaries. He became the first high-ranking party figure to support Trump and became an advisor in his campaign, but he changed his stance following the storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters in January 2021 and Trump's refusal to acknowledge his defeat in the 2020 elections.
The list of Republican presidential candidates now includes four contenders for the American presidency, scheduled for November 5th, namely: former President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.
The Republican primaries see considerable debate in light of the legal cases against former President Trump, especially after the state of Maine announced Trump's ineligibility to run in the primaries, one week after a similar decision was made by the Supreme Court of Colorado due to the 2021 Capitol riot.
The attack on the Capitol, which occurred three years ago, continues to cause deep division in the United States, with 25% of Americans and 44% of Trump-supporting voters believing that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was behind the attack, according to a poll conducted by The Washington Post and the University of Maryland.
Last week, the FBI announced the arrest of three wanted individuals in Florida for their involvement in the Capitol attack.
