Chris Christie drops out of Republican race as Trump rivals go head-to-head
Republican presidential hopeful Chris Christie has dropped out of the Republican candidacy race but vowed to never let Donald Trump become US president again.
The former New Jersey governor suspended his campaign after claiming there wasn’t a path for him to win the nomination.
His exit also means the removal of the most high-profile and consistent critic of former president Trump.
“My goal has never been to be just a voice against the hate and division and the selfishness of what our party has become under Donald Trump,” Mr Christie told supporters in New Hampshire.
“I am 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.”
His withdrawal came as a surprise as Mr Christie had insisted on Tuesday night that he had no plans to leave the race, continuing to cast himself as the only candidate willing to directly take on the former president, who he used to support and backed throughout his presidency.
Mr Christie also did not immediately endorse either of his main rivals – Nikki Haley or Ron DeSantis.
He has criticised both throughout the campaign for failing to directly target Trump for fear of alienating the front-runner’s loyal supporters.
Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley fiercely attacked each other’s campaigns. Pic: AP
It comes as Haley and DeSantis went head-to-head during a primary debate in Iowa on Wednesday.
The pair accused each other of lying and insulted the each other’s records during the opening minutes.
Asa Hutchinson, the former Arkansas governor, and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy also remain in the running, but did not meet the qualification requirements for the debate.
Ms Haley, a former UN ambassador, directed viewers to a website her campaign created chronicling what she said were Mr DeSantis’ lies.
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The Florida governor in turn tried to send people to his website, where he said he collected “all the greatest hits” of Ms Haley’s false statements.
Both candidates sought a strong debate performance before Monday’s caucuses, where Republican Party members will pledge to vote for a given candidate at the party’s national convention.
A good level of support for either member could provide much-needed momentum as they try to become the primary alternative to Trump, who was absent from the debate.
Donald Trump was absent from the debate. Pic: AP
Speaking instead at a Fox News town hall meeting in Des Moines, Trump said he agreed with Mr Christie, after he was overheard saying Ms Haley was “going to get smoked” when going up against Mr DeSantis, adding: “She’s not up for this.”
Trump said he was not worried if Mr Christie’s exit from the race would boost Ms Haley’s candidacy, instead hinting that he knows who he wants to be his vice president.
The former president had the support of 49% of Republicans in a nationwide poll conducted by Reuters and market research company, Ipsos, on Wednesday, far ahead of Ms Haley in second place at 12% and Mr DeSantis at 11%.
Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”
He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.
O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.
“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.
“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”
Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Donald Trump secured a second term. Pic: AP
O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.
She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.
O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.
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This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.
But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.
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Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.
“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.
“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”
A farmer who fell from a greenhouse roof during an anti-immigrant raid at a licensed cannabis facility in California this week has died of his injuries.
Jaime Alanis, 57, is the first person to die as a result of Donald Trump’s Immigration Compliance and Enforcement (ICE) raids.
His niece, Yesenia Duran, posted on the fundraising site GoFundMe to say her uncle was his family’s only provider and he had been sending his earnings back to his wife and daughter in Mexico.
The United Food Workers said Mr Alanis had worked on the farm for 10 years.
“These violent and cruel federal actions terrorise American communities, disrupt the American food supply chain, threaten lives and separate families,” the union said in a recent statement on X.
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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said it executed criminal search warrants at Glass House Farms facilities on Thursday.
Mr Alanis called family to say he was hiding and possibly fleeing agents before he fell around 30ft (9m) from the roof and broke his neck, according to information from family, hospital and government sources.
Agents arrested 200 people suspected of being in the country illegally and identified at least 10 immigrant children on the sites, the DHS said in a statement.
Mr Alanis was not among them, the agency said.
“This man was not in and has not been in CBP (Customs and Border Protection) or ICE custody,” DHS assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin said.
“Although he was not being pursued by law enforcement, this individual climbed up to the roof of a greenhouse and fell 30ft. CBP immediately called a medivac to the scene to get him care as quickly as possible.”
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Four US citizens were arrested during the incident for allegedly “assaulting or resisting officers”, the DHS said, and authorities were offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a person suspected of firing a gun at federal agents.
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In a statement, Glass House, a licensed Cannabis grower, said immigration agents had valid warrants. It said workers were detained and it is helping provide them with legal representation.
“Glass House has never knowingly violated applicable hiring practices and does not and has never employed minors,” it added.
Donald Trump has said he is considering “taking away” the US citizenship of actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, despite a Supreme Court ruling that expressly prohibits a government from doing so.
In a post on Truth Social on Saturday, the US president said: “Because of the fact that Rosie O’Donnell is not in the best interests of our Great Country, I am giving serious consideration to taking away her Citizenship.”
He also labelled O’Donnell, who has moved to Ireland, as a “threat to humanity” and said she should “remain in the wonderful country of Ireland, if they want her”.
O’Donnell responded on Instagram by posting a photograph of Mr Trump with Jeffrey Epstein.
“You are everything that is wrong with America and I’m everything you hate about what’s still right with it,” she wrote in the caption.
“I’m not yours to silence. I never was.”
Rosie O’Donnell moved to Ireland after Donald Trump secured a second term. Pic: AP
O’Donnell moved to Ireland with her 12-year-old son in January after Mr Trump had secured a second term.
She has said she’s in the process of obtaining Irish citizenship based on family lineage and that she would only return to the US “when it is safe for all citizens to have equal rights there in America”.
O’Donnell and the US president have criticised each other publicly for years, in an often-bitter back-and-forth that predates Mr Trump’s move into politics.
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Will Trump address parliament on UK state visit?
This is just the latest threat by the president to revoke the citizenship of someone he has disagreed with, most recently his former ally Elon Musk.
But the two situations are different as while Musk was born in South Africa, O’Donnell was born in the US and has a constitutional right to American citizenship.
Read more from Sky News:
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Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia School of Law, said the Supreme Court ruled in a 1967 case that the fourteenth amendment of the constitution prevents the government from taking away citizenship.
“The president has no authority to take away the citizenship of a native-born US citizen,” he added.
“In short, we are nation founded on the principle that the people choose the government; the government cannot choose the people.”
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