Christie’s Endorsement of Trump Could Puts Him As Front Runner of Vice President

Photo courtesy of Michael Vadon, Wikipedia

Chris Christie’s recent endorsement of Donald Trump is nothing but a power play by the head of the Garden State. This shocking move made by the governor could not have come at a better time, as it puts him in a prime position with the GOP leader, effectively placing Christie as frontrunner for vice presidency under Trump.

Christie announced his support for Trump as the Republican nominee, even though the two have sparred against each other over the last few months while on separate campaign trails. Christie had been extremely critical of Trump’s claims and proposed policies.   

The governor called Trump’s ban on Muslims, “the kind of thing that people say when they have no experience and don’t know what they’re talking about,” in an interview with Michael Medved. During his campaign in New Hampshire, Christie also went on to say, “we are not electing an entertainer-in-chief. Showmanship is fun, but it’s not the type of leadership that will truly change America.” These jabs not only attacked Trump’s ideas, but his ability to be an effective President.

Within just one month, Christie went from ferociously bashing Trump to being his first political supporter. This makes the case that Christie is doing this just to better himself, knowing that this move could propel him to Washington D.C. since he already missed out on that opportunity by himself.  

Trump also criticized Christie, but mainly in retaliation to Christie’s comments. During a campaign rally in South Carolina, he addressed Christie and said, “He really hit me on the whole thing with ‘we have to stop the Muslims until we find out what’s going on’ … So Chris, who’s a friend of mine, he hit me hard. And I said, ‘I’ve got to hit him at least once.’”

Even as Trump has tirelessly insulted almost all political leaders, he wasn’t as hard on Christie as other GOP hopefuls.

Since Trump considers Christie a friend, their relationship is what will most likely enabled the two to look beyond their differences, no matter how conflicting they may be. In today’s world of politics, this is just another example that shows nothing is what it seems to be. As long as Trump and Christie believe it is in their best interest to team up, that’s what they will do.

The event that signaled Christie to voice his support for Trump was likely one of Trump’s answers at a presidential forum on Feb. 24. During the Q&A session at Regent University in Virginia, Trump was asked if he had any thoughts on a possible vice president candidate, to which Trump replied, “I do want somebody that’s political, because I want to get lots of great legislation we all want passed.” Even though Trump didn’t name anyone in particular, its clear that Christie knew this was his chance.

Just two days after Trump said he would need a politician as his vice president, Christie made a surprise visit to Fort Worth, Texas on Friday, Feb. 26 to stand beside Trump and declare his allegiance to him. This move has taken the country by surprise, especially Christie’s former campaign finance chair, Meg Whitman, CEO of Hewlett-Packard, who said “Christie’s endorsement of Donald Trump is an astonishing display of political opportunism.”

I believe that all along Trump knew Christie would potentially be a valuable asset going into the final primaries and beyond, which is why Trump never went out of his way to insult Christie. In the end, the two of them may share differences of opinion, but they are so-called “bullies” who love attention and never back down from a fight. From an outsiders view, this marriage may seem like it is destined to fail, but so has Trump’s entire campaign thus far, which is why Christie’s endorsement of Trump benefits the both of them. 

ekraljic@ramapo.edu