Chris Christie defends staying in the 2024 race, says Donald Trump will 'burn America to the ground'

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie defended his decision to remain in the 2024 presidential contest, arguing in a new ad that he is the only Republican candidate taking on former President Donald Trump.

"He'll burn America to the ground to help himself," Christie said, in a direct address to the camera. "Every Republican leader says that in private. I'm the only one saying it in public."

Christie has been one of the former president's most outspoken critics among the field of GOP White House hopefuls since announcing his bid in June. But as the competition heats up and 2024 approaches, calls for Christie to exit the race have intensified. That's because some political observers say Republicans who don't support Trump should have the opportunity to coalesce around a single challenger.

"Really? I'm the only one saying Donald Trump is a liar," Christie pushed back in the new ad.

"What kind of president do we want? A liar, or someone who's got the guts to tell the truth? New Hampshire it's up to you," he added.

The former governor's seven-figure and thirty-second TV spot, debuting on New Hampshire airwaves, was his campaign's first major ad buy of the 2024 election season. The commercial comes less than a month before the New Hampshire primary election on Jan. 23.

Christie has staked the majority of his presidential hopes in the Granite State, campaigning almost exclusively in the first-in-the-nation primary state as he seeks to appeal to a distaste for Trump among New Hampshire independents.

The former president is not Christie's only hurdle, though. Recent polls show former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley surging in New Hampshire, leaving Christie in third place trailing her by almost twenty points.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chris Christie balks at calls to drop out, attacks Trump in new ad