New York Times (Editorial)
February 26, 2016
Those
who have witnessed Gov. Chris Christie’s performance both in New Jersey
and in the national arena over the past couple of years almost could
have seen Friday’s sweaty
embrace of Donald Trump coming. Almost.
Once
upon a time, the governor put his state first, for good and ill. Today,
he is driven by twin demons: national political ambition and
vengefulness. By cozying up to
Mr. Trump, he feeds both.
Having
staked his presidential hopes on the New Hampshire primary only to
finish in sixth place, and facing the end of a so-far disastrous second
term as governor, Mr.
Christie needs a new job. Perhaps he’s hitching his ambitions to Mr.
Trump because he’s promised to make him a winner, like Mr. Trump
promises America. Mr. Trump, at least, has managed to do what Mr.
Christie couldn’t: hoodwink his way to the front of the
Republican presidential pack.
Consistency
has never been Mr. Christie’s strong suit, and that showed in his
endorsement on Friday. During the final days of his failed campaign, Mr.
Christie said this
of Mr. Trump: “We are not electing an entertainer in chief. Showmanship
is fun, but it is not the kind of leadership that will truly change
America.” On Friday he said of Mr. Trump: “He’s a good friend. He’s a
strong and resolute leader and he is someone who
is going to lead the Republican Party to victory in November.”
Mr.
Christie’s good friend is the enemy of his enemy. Marco Rubio’s attack
ads helped Mr. Christie along to defeat. He started to take his revenge
on the debate stage
in New Hampshire by savagely mocking Mr. Rubio for his robotic
performance. Now Mr. Trump, embarrassed by Mr. Rubio’s slashing ridicule
in Thursday night’s forum, is giving Mr. Christie a chance to finish
the job. They lost no time about it on Friday, spinning
up a medley of playground insults toward the Florida senator.
The
bombastic governor may not fully realize that while he damaged Mr.
Rubio in New Hampshire with his attack, it also showed voters who Mr.
Christie really is. He may
help his new best frenemy forever take Mr. Rubio down, but it’s near
certain that Mr. Christie will further cement his national reputation as
a venal, vindictive political bully in the process. His endorsement has
already demonstrated that Mr. Christie will
say anything in service of his ambition. Asked what he hopes to get in
return, Mr. Christie played coy, saying that after his term ends in
2018, he wants to “go into private life and make money like Trump.”
After
his performance on Friday, Mr. Christie had better hope that Mr. Trump,
wherever he winds up, can find a little something for his new
apprentice to do. If Mr. Trump
should win the presidency, he might want to consider Mr. Christie for
transportation secretary, since he already knows so much about traffic
patterns on commuter bridges.
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