Chris Christie has a well-honed reputation, the public persona we’ve come to know – that of a tough-talking, no-nonsense Jersey guy who tells it like it is whether you – yeah YOU! — like it or not. But he’s also got another reputation – that of a pol who’s always looking out for #1, and does what he has to in order to come out ahead.
More on that in a moment, but first let’s take a stroll down memory lane and examine some of the things Chris Christie said about Donald Trump during the GOP campaign, a campaign that reminds me of the movie Animal House.
Christie called Trump one of the “carnival barkers of today.”
He said of Trump: “Showtime is over. We are not electing an entertainer-in-chief. Showmanship is fun, but it is not the kind of leadership that will truly change America.”
He said Trump was acting like a “13-year-old” when he threatened to boycott the Fox News debate.
He said Trump’s plan to ban all Muslims from (temporarily) entering the United States was “Ridiculous …”the kind of thing that people say when they have no experience and don’t know what they’re talking about.”
On Trump’s plan to force the Mexican government to pay for a wall to keep illegal aliens out of the United States, Christie said, “This makes no sense,” explaining that “This is not negotiation of a real estate deal, OK? This is international diplomacy, and it’s different.”
On Trump’s views regarding Syria, Christie said they were “Painfully naïve.”
When Trump said he saw thousands of Muslims cheering in New Jersey when the Twin Towers came down on 9/11, Christie said, “that didn’t happen.”
And the governor had this for Greta Van Susteren about Trump: “Donald’s a great guy and a good person, but I just don’t think he’s suited to be president of the United States. I don’t think his temperament is suited for that and I don’t think his experience is.”
Got it?
Now, here’s what Chris Christie said just the other day about Donald Trump, you know, the Donald Trump who is “not suited to be president” because he’s got the wrong “temperament” and lacks “experience.”
“I am proud to be here to endorse Donald Trump for president of the United States,” Christie said with Trump standing next to him. “I absolutely appreciate him as a person and as a friend.”
And …
“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.”
No, I’m a big boy and so I am not shocked. And yes, I know, it’s called politics. But I prefer opportunism. And I’m pretty sure it’s a sign that Chris Christie, that no-nonsense straight shooter, needs a job when his term is up in 2017 – a job like Attorney General of the United States, appointed to that lofty post by his good friend, that “great guy and good person” President-you-know-who.
