Trenton, NJ – Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has expressed his openness to supporting a third-party candidate in the forthcoming presidential election, specifically mentioning a possible No Labels party bid by Senator Joe Manchin. In a recent interview on the “Pod Save America” podcast, Christie clearly stated his refusal to support former President Donald Trump in a potential November rematch against President Joe Biden.
If it came down to Trump or Biden, Christie hinted that Biden would get his vote.
“We have two awful choices here, in my view,” he said. “The only thing I will commit to is: I’m not voting for Trump under any circumstances.”
He explained that he would prefer a third party candidate, but if the choice was between the two candidates, Trump is not getting his vote.
“I don’t want Trump to win. And I would certainly — that would be something I would evaluate as the time went on. I wouldn’t be an early voter. I would go on Election Day so I had all the information I could,” he said. “But I’m just telling you, dispositionally, I think Joe, Joe Biden is not more qualified than Joe Manchin to be president of the United States in this term coming up.”
Christie highlighted his interest in the No Labels political organization, which aims to introduce a “unity” ticket across all states. While not committing fully to vote for Biden, Christie voiced his support for Manchin as a preferable candidate, should he be nominated by No Labels. This stance comes amidst concerns that a third-party bid might inadvertently benefit Trump in the election.
Despite skepticism about the impact of a third-party vote in a state that has consistently leaned Democratic, Christie emphasized his decision-making process would be based on the complete set of candidates available. He argued that Manchin could be more qualified than Biden for the presidency, yet did not rule out eventually voting for Biden if it became necessary to prevent a Trump victory.
