Chris Christie said on Wednesday that if New Hampshire voters reward Donald Trump's style of campaigning, it would damage the state's reputation as the nation's first primary.
"Quite frankly, he hasn't campaigned the way New Hampshire voters expect you to campaign," the New Jersey Gov. said on the radio show New Hampshire Today. "He doesn't really answer questions either. He comes in and he gives a speech and signs some hats and gets on the 757 and leaves. Now if that's what New Hampshire's gonna reward, it makes New Hampshire no different than any other state in the union in terms of the way you have to campaign and I don't think that's good for New Hampshire and I don't think it's good for the first in the nation primary."
Christie made the comments in pushing back on the host's assertion that Trump had visited New Hampshire a lot, saying, "I would challenge you that Donald's been here a whole lot" and claiming that he had campaigned in the state for 68 days.
Christie also called into question the significance of Scott Brown's endorsement of Donald Trump, noting that the last time Brown won an election was 2010.
"I don't know what went through his mind in endorsing Mr. Trump but it's obviously his choice," said Christie. "But Scott hasn't won an election since 2010, so I quite frankly don't know how significant the endorsement is."
In the interview, Christie acknowledged that Trump was the front-runner to win the primary due to his lead in the polls, but argued, "He was in first place in most of the polls in Iowa and he didn't come in first place."
The governor said his personal goal was to finish in the top three or four.
"Of course, I'd like to be in the top three or four and that's what I'm shooting for," he said.
In the interview, Christie continued to criticize Marco Rubio, downplaying his third-place finish in Iowa, which Rubio and his supporters have touted as a major victory.
"Everyone expected him to come in third, he came in third. It's just Marco gave the same speech he always gives and it's not like he won something. He came in third place. And that's great for him, but everyone expected him to come in third place," Christie said.