Dem
51
GOP
49
Shortly before last night's debate, another "presidential candidate" bit the dust, as Chris Christie announced that he is dropping out of the race.
In his farewell press conference, Christie did not endorse a preferred presidential candidate. He did manage to de-endorse (if that's a word) each of the top three contenders for the GOP nomination. In the case of Donald Trump, Christie's de-endorsement was very intentional. The former New Jersey governor said:
Donald Trump wants you to be angry every day because he's angry. He wants you to be angry so that you'll relate to his anger and then to vote for him. Please understand this. I have known him well for 22 years—more than anybody else in this race has known him. And I can promise you this. If you put him back behind the desk in the Oval Office and the choice comes and the decision is needed to be made as to whether he puts himself first or he puts you first, how much more evidence do you need that he will pick himself?
And if that is what we have there, then people are gonna remain angry, remain divided, and become even more exhausted than they are today. The country that I think we should choose is the country that recognizes that our differences have always been our strength, not a weakness, not something to divide us and anger us, but our differences have been our strength. We come from different countries at different times to different places with different skills, with different religions.
There's nothing there that we would disagree with, though it might be nice to see Christie acknowledge that he played a big role in enabling Trump for 5 years before changing his tune.
As to Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis, Christie's de-endorsement was inadvertent... probably. While he was waiting to go on stage to make his big announcement, Christie was talking with an advisor and his mic was hot. So, everyone heard him say that: (1) "[Haley]'s gonna get smoked and you and I both know it. She's not up to this," and (2) that when DeSantis called Christie on the phone to talk about the campaign, DeSantis was "petrified." Trump got much mileage out of this at his Fox town hall last night, and the two bits will presumably become regular parts of his repertoire. Ostensibly, Christie's comments were not meant to be overheard, but he's pretty smart and he's also quite petty (see Bridgegate), and so we wonder how "accidental" that accident really was.
In any case, Christie's withdrawal was long overdue. He claimed to be the guy that would "speak truth" about Trump, but every time he had an opportunity to do it before a national audience (i.e., the first three presidential candidates' debates), he wilted. We suspect that he was having a tough time overriding his political instincts, and his hope that, just maybe, he might win this thing. Now that is no longer a concern, so he can fire with both barrels if that is what he wants to do. Even if Fox and OAN won't touch Christie with a 10-foot pole, there are plenty of other outlets that are thrilled to welcome Trump-hating Republicans. Just think of how often we hear from George Conway.
Meanwhile, as a tactical matter, if derailing Trump is the goal, then Christie really needed to get out of Haley's way in New Hampshire. And indeed, polling continues to suggest that much of his Granite State support will migrate to her. So, maybe she keeps it close there, or even pulls out a victory. That will be interesting, of course, and will excite much comment, but good luck when she gets to the Solid South. Even South Carolina.
Christie's departure from the GOP race leaves us with four "serious" non-Trump candidates, namely Asa Hutchinson, Vivek Ramaswamy, Haley and DeSantis. Who will be next to go? (Z)