Christie does not rule out voting for Biden, but he’s ‘not there yet’

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) has not ruled out voting for President Biden while vowing to not back former President Trump as the two head toward a likely rematch in November.

Christie was asked in an interview on Crooked Media’s “Pod Save America” podcast on Wednesday whether the choice between Biden and Trump matters in next November’s election as the two remain the front-runners of their respective parties. He did not commit to voting for Biden, suggesting that he would likely support a potential No Labels bid by Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) instead.

“What I believe is that we don’t know yet what the full choice will be. And I do think there will be — put Bobby Kennedy Jr. aside, whom I think is a joke and probably won’t wind up on the ballot in most states,” he said.

“But I do think that the No Labels effort is a real effort. I think they will get on the ballot in most, if not all the states. So part of the reason why I’m not making a decision other than my decision to definitively never vote for Trump is they might nominate somebody who I prefer to Joe Biden,” he continued. “So for instance, if they nominated Joe Manchin, I would vote for Joe Manchin.”

No Labels is a political organization looking to put forward a “unity” ticket in all fifty states. Manchin has been floated as a potential candidate for the group, which has faced bipartisan criticism and sparked concerns among Democrats who worry that a third-party bid will turn the election in favor of Trump.

When asked if it mattered that voting for a third-party candidate could help elect Trump, Christie argued that his vote does not matter much in New Jersey — which has voted for the Democrat in the last eight presidential elections.

“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.”

When pressed further on why he wouldn’t commit to voting for Biden if it was “necessary to save the country,” Christie said he has not ruled it out.

“And I’m not telling you that I won’t. I’m just telling you, I’m not there yet. You know, the only thing that I have decided firmly is that I will not vote for Trump under any circumstances,” he said.

Christie, who dropped out of the GOP presidential primary last month, previously said during an interview with NBC “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker earlier this week that it is unlikely he would cast a ballot for the Democratic front-runner.

The Hill has reached out to the Biden campaign and the Trump campaign for comment.