The New York Times editorial board called on Chris Christie to drop out of the race for the White House, saying he has neglected his home state of New Jersey.
“The point is that New Jersey is in trouble, and the governor is off pursuing a presidential run that’s turned out to be nothing more than a vanity project,” the newspaper said in an editorial published Thursday afternoon.
The paper cited the governor’s poor poll and fundraising numbers, encouraging him instead to turn his attention to the state’s economy.
Christie responded sharply on Twitter after the op-ed was published, saying, “.@nytimes Can’t read the article because I don’t have a subscription, but I can tell you this – I am not going anywhere.”
The Times followed up with a response to Christie’s tweet and a link to the subscription page, to which, the governor replied with a GIF of Christie at Thursday night’s debate.
The editorial comes two days after a home state paper of Florida Sen. Marco Rubio called for him to resign his Senate seat if he wanted to focus on his presidential run.
The editorial also came the day after a relatively strong debate performance from Christie, where he got a strong applause line for calling out moderators for a question on fantasy football.
Christie referenced the Times’ editorial at a campaign rally in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Friday.
“Here’s the thing: I now know I am definitely going to be the next president,” Christie said. “They are worried I will beat their candidate, Hillary Clinton.”