Chris Christie’s tour of Trump indignities ends with final snub
It’s final. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will not be Donald Trump’s running mate.
You can’t say the New Jersey governor didn’t give it a shot. Nobody went through more to try to land the job than Christie. And he even admitted in an interview with MSNBC on Thursday that not getting the nod would be hard to take.
“I’m not going to say it won’t bother me if I’m not selected,” he told NBC News Thursday in a clip released after news Indiana Gov. Mike Pence’s likely selection broke. “Of course it bothers you a little bit. ’Cause if you’re a competitive person, like I am, and you’re used to winning, like I am — again, you don’t like coming in second, ever.”
It’s always tough to lose. But not necessarily this tough.
Christie was the first bigname, establishment-friendly Republican to jump on-board Trump’s campaign, catching the political world by surprise with his pre-Super Tuesday endorsement.
The endorsement burned bridges with a GOP establishment that had once embraced Christie because it came at a time when it appeared Trump could still be stopped. Christie’s endorsement lent Trump the kind of insider credibility he hadn’t obtained to that point.
During the endorsement, Christie said, “I’ve gotten to know all the people on that stage, and there is no one who is better prepared to provide America with the strong leadership that it needs, both at home and around the world, than Donald Trump.”
That was a far cry from things he had said about Trump previously, dismissing Trump as an “entertainer” and calling his proposals unserious.
“We are not electing an entertainer-in-chief,” Christie had said. “Showmanship is fun, but it’s not the type of leadership that will truly change America.”
For Christie — a guy known for blunt political talk — it reeked of opportunism and political expediency.
Christie’s tolerance
Christie, it bears noting, has struggled with his weight. He even had surgery to help trim down. But you already knew that. I knew that. Everyone knew that.
Including Donald Trump, who drafted him into his standard trail riff on an outsourcing-inspired Nabisco boycott.
“You’re not eating Oreos anymore, are you?” Trump asked Christie as the audience laughed awkwardly. “No more Oreos for either of us. Chris, don’t feel bad.”
We don’t know exactly what Christie was feeling at that moment. But we can guess.
Nowhere may Christie may be less popular than in his home state — and ever since he started running for president, he’s been accused of skipping out on his day job. Absence — which continued after his own campaign ended, when he began making regular appearances with Trump across the country — did nothing to change that.
So Christie may not want to spotlight his travel schedule. But Trump is happy to do that for him. Here’s what happened at a March rally, per NJ.com:
“‘Your governor, Kasich,’ Trump told a crowd at an Ohio rally. ‘If you look at him, and I’m being totally impartial, he goes to New Hampshire (and) he’s living in New Hampshire.;
“Trump then started looking around the lectern.
“‘Where’s Chris? Is Chris around?’ Trump asked. ‘(Kasich was there) even more than Chris Christie.’
“Trump smiled after finding Christie over his shoulder. “‘Right?’ Trump continued. “He added: ‘I hated to do that but I had to make my point.’
He may have hated it. But not enough to stop doing it.
‘Tense’ conversation
We’ll let NBC’s Kelly O’Donnell take it from here — from her Friday report:
“Trump spoke to Gov. Christie after 4 p.m. (Thursday) in what was described as a ‘tense’ conversation where a Pence pick was discussed but a final decision was not communicated.
“By about 5 p.m., sources said Trump had not personally made the offer to Pence to join the ticket. But by that time, other signals, movements and the Indiana governor’s arrival in the New York City area on a private plane appeared to signal that the choice had been made.
“After that, sources close to Christie say the New Jersey governor, stung by the lack of clarity, indicated they did not expect to see Trump move away from Pence despite the unresolved conversation.”
So now Christie knows firsthand what it feels like when Trump’s a rival, and a friend — but not a boss. There’s still a chance to get that experience. I’m sure an attorney general slot sounds pretty appealing right now.