Christie slams DeSantis in Florida speech for not representing 'what conservatives have stood for'

Former New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie criticized fellow 2024 GOP candidates — including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis — Friday during an appearance in the Sunshine State, Miami Herald reports.

Per Miami Herald, although Christie is "not a leading candidate, one recent poll found that he has managed to catch DeSantis for the second-place spot in New Hampshire."

The New York Timesreports:

On Friday, over more than 90 minutes of remarks and answers to questions, sprinkled with colorful language and jokes, Mr. Christie repeatedly jabbed Mr. DeSantis and Mr. Trump, the two Floridians who have dominated the state's politics and rarely faced criticism from anyone in their own party.

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"We have this group now, folks like Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump and Vivek Ramaswamy. And these folks who believe in big-government conservatism, if there's something going on in the country that they don't personally like, they want the government to pass a law to stop it," Christie said. "They want to put more power in the hands of the government. That's not what conservatives have stood for my whole life. And if I'm President, I'm about empowering families to make decisions about their children's lives, their education and their futures."

According to Miami Herald, "Asked to comment about a leaked campaign memo from a pro-DeSantis Super PAC that suggested Florida's governor defend Trump — and attack Christie — on the debate stage rather than rip into the former president, Christie said DeSantis’ mixed messages have been a contributing factor in his long slide in GOP presidential polls."

"Well, this campaign of his has gone from up here to down here, because people are really beginning to wonder what the hell he stands for," Christie said. "And if what he stands for is defending Donald Trump, then just drop out of the race and endorse him."

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Miami Herald's full report is available at this link. The New York Times' report is here (subscription required).