CBS News shares latest poll results for 2024 GOP Presidential Candidates, Chris Christie reacts
(CBS, KYMA/KECY) - CBS News Director of Elections and Surveys Anthony Salvanto appeared on Face the Nation Sunday morning and gave a debrief on the latest CBS News poll.
Donald Trump still leads in New Hampshire, but Nikki Haley has consolidated much of the non-Trump vote and has emerged as the top alternative to him there.
Among the top candidates, Haley gets the best marks on being seen as "likable" and "reasonable," and she runs nearly even with Trump on being "prepared," which is notable considering he held the presidency.
She also has been running in part on electability and is now seen as the most electable of Trump's challengers.
Meanwhile, Trump has consolidated his already commanding lead in Iowa, where likely caucus-goers overwhelmingly see him as a "strong leader," where his backers say he "represents Iowa values," and where he is boosted by an electorate in which nearly half say they are part of the MAGA movement.
Chris Christie reacts to poll and Trump's comments
After the results of the poll, GOP Candidate Chris Christie spoke with Face the Nation moderator Margaret Brennan to discuss the poll, which showed Haley in the lead.
When asked if he sees a path to victory for Haley, Christie said:
"Absolutely. Look, when you look at the poll you just talked about, it has fewer than half of the people. It would need to even qualify to be a poll under the RNC polling criteria. It has a margin of error of over 6%. I mean, it's kind of just a foolish poll with all due respect...and the fact is that in the end...Governor Haley got an endorsement this week that got her a lot of free media publicity."
During the interview, Brennan and Christie talked about former President Trump's comments made Saturday night, where he says that immigrants from Asia, Africa and south America are poisoning the blood of America, to which Christie reacted saying, "I don't know how you could take someone like that and say that they're fit to be president of the United States."
Why Christie defended Haley during debate
Later in the interview, Brennan asked Christie why he defended Haley during the last GOP presidential debate.
"Because when someone on the stage...treats someone who is as, you know, smart and accomplished as Nikki is, and has been my friend for 13 years, you know, and he says that comparison intellect to that of his three-year-old son, the way I was raised...is you stand up and you defend someone, who you do respect, being treated with disrespect by someone else. And that's exactly what I did. I do it again...and I think it's the right thing to do.
To see where Haley stands in the CBS News poll, click here.
