Chris Christie Suspends Campaign; Reveals Thoughts on Hot Mic
How much his departure matters; Haley and DeSantis hold final debate before Iowa
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Good morning,
💻 The work-from-home vs. office debate continues. But, a new survey says the dirty little secret is that bosses don’t want to be in the office as much, if not more than, than their employees do.
The survey found that 68% of bosses, a group that includes middle managers, executives and business owners, would like remote work to continue in 2024. Just 48% of employees feel the same.
Some upper-level execs have been the loudest — and staunchest — advocates for returning to the office. However, more than 80% of executives and non-executives want flexibility in where they work, including a majority (56%) of those in the office full-time.
Wherever you are, have a good one!
Mosheh, Jill, & Lauren
🗞 CHRISTIE ENDS CAMPAIGN AS A HOT MIC CAPTURES HIS THOUGHTS ON HALEY, DESANTIS
👋 CHRISTIE OUT
A shake-up in the race for the White House: Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie ended his 2024 presidential campaign on Wednesday evening.
Christie was always an extreme long shot candidate, as he was the most prominent Republican presidential contender to openly criticize the frontrunner, former President Trump — who he’s known for decades and once helped get into the White House.
His biggest issue, and one that was apparent as he would get booed at debates and other GOP events, is that he is critical of Trump in a Republican party where the former president remains extremely popular.
In Christie’s departure yesterday, he said: "I’m going to make sure that in no way do I enable Donald Trump to ever be president of the United States again. And that’s more important than my own personal ambition."
In a clear shot at remaining rivals, Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, also said that “anyone who is unwilling to say (Trump) is unfit to be president of the United States is unfit themselves to be president.”
IS CHRISTIE’S LOSS HALEY’S GAIN?
Christie failed to gain widespread traction in the polls beyond about 10-12 percent in New Hampshire, which votes on Jan 23. His exit creates a possible opening for former UN ambassador Nikki Haley to consolidate the ‘anyone but Trump’ vote in the first primary state.
📍Christie did not endorse Haley or DeSantis, but was caught minutes before his announcement on an audio hot-mic that was live online (until somebody quickly cut it), saying Haley was going to “get smoked” by Trump and that “she’s not up to this.” He added that DeSantis is “petrified,” but we didn’t find out why as the mic then cuts out.
Take a listen…
📊 THE NUMBERS
In the latest poll from New Hampshire, Haley is within striking distance of Trump. Trump has 39% of likely Republican primary voters compared to Haley’s 32%. It is the state she has the best chance to show she can compete with the former president. Without a great showing there, Trump could solidify himself early as the likely 2024 nominee.
In the poll, Christie had 12%, Vivek Ramaswamy is at 8%, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had 5%.
🚨 If most of Christie’s supporters go for Haley, she could potentially beat Trump in the first primary on January 23.
In national polls, Christie averaged in the low single-digits.
CALLS TO DROP-OUT
In recent days, Christie faced increasing pressure among anti-Trump Republicans and donors to drop out.
They feared his establishment appeal — that attracts moderate Republicans and Independents — could take votes from Haley. Notably, he had little support in Iowa, which votes on Jan 15, and will not really factor there. She is vying for a strong second place there.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who endorsed Haley, told reporters last week that Christie had a chance to “be the hero” and swing the state in Haley’s favor.
Christie has been a sharp critic of Haley, accusing her of trying to be all things to all people and questioning her for refusing to rule out running as Trump’s VP and lacking the backbone to call him out.
“I would be happy to get out of the way for someone who is actually running against Donald Trump,” Christie recently said.
Christie and his allies have pushed back against the idea that his supporters will automatically move to support Haley if he were to drop out — but given his views, she would be the most likely alternative.
LESSON FROM 2016
The lesson from 2016 is that too many candidates stayed in the race for too long, paving the way for Trump to win the nomination.
Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, and Ben Carson stayed through several primaries, allowing Trump to stack up a number of wins with just 20-30% of the vote to ride to the nomination.
THROWBACK THURSDAY: In 2016, Christie finished sixth in New Hampshire’s GOP primary, dropped out and endorsed Trump. He admitted recently it was a ‘mistake.’
Now: Mike Pence and Christie are among those stepping away early, before any votes are cast, to give a fighting chance to someone other than Trump.
NEXT UP: IOWA
There are four days until Iowa's Republican caucus, officially kicking off the election cycle. It’s expected to be the coldest (as in temperatures) Iowa caucus to date, so turnout could be low.
HE SAID / SHE SAID: Last night in Iowa, Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley debated each other on CNN, “taking relentless jabs as they criticized each other's stances on taxes, immigration and foreign aid.” It was their first one-on-one debate as they look to become the top alternative to Donald Trump. They spent more time fighting one another than contrasting with Trump (who skipped all of the debates). See Mo News Instagram stories for the latest coverage.
Here’s where the recent Iowa polls stand:
Trump 52%, Haley 18%, DeSantis 18%, Ramaswamy 5%, and Christie 3%.
⏳ SPEED READ
🚨NATION
📌 Trump can’t speak during closing arguments in NY civil fraud trial, judge says (CNN)
📌 After surprise trip to Capitol Hill, Hunter Biden faces contempt vote from House GOP for defying subpoena (USA TODAY)
📌 Alaska & United flight cancellations continue amid ongoing investigation of Boeing 737 Max 9 (NBC NEWS)
📌 House Democrat joins GOP calls for Biden's defense secretary to resign (AXIOS)
🌎 AROUND THE WORLD
📌 Soldiers patrol streets in Ecuador as government and cartels declare war on each other (CBS NEWS)
📌 Blinken tells Bibi that Saudis want peace deal, but not without two-state solution (AXIOS)
📌 Hundreds of UK postal workers wrongly accused of fraud will have their convictions overturned (AP)
📌 US and UK hint at military action after largest Houthi attack in Red Sea (BBC)
📱BUSINESS, SCIENCE & TECH
📌 US carbon emissions shrank last year, but very slowly (GUARDIAN)
📌 SEC gives Bitcoin ETFs the green light (CNN)
📌 Amazon to lay off several hundred staff in Prime Video & Studios (REUTERS)
📌 Office vacancies hit a new record high (AXIOS)
🎬 SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT
📌 Alabama's Nick Saban retiring as football coach (FOX NEWS)
📌 Gen Z is fueling a jazz comeback (AXIOS)
📌 Pete Carroll out as Seahawks coach after 14 seasons (ESPN)
📌 SAG Awards 2024: See the full list of nominees (CNN)
🗓 ON THIS DAY: JANUARY 11
1935: Amelia Earhart becomes the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California.
1992: Nirvana make their first appearance on Saturday Night Live.
2002: The US military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, admitted its first inmates. It remains open today with 30 remaining prisoners and costs an estimated $520 million a year to keep open.
2020: Chinese state media reported the first known death from COVID. The 61-year-old man who died was a regular customer at the market in Wuhan. (We would learn later that the virus had already been circulating and killing people for months before that).