New Jersey Governor Chris Christie endorsed billionaire Donald Trump today, throwing his support behind the other brash-talking candidate from the New York area and calling him the only man in the race qualified to be president.
“The best choice is Donald Trump. There was no choice in my mind," said Christie, standing beside Trump at an event in Fort Worth, Texas. Christie ended his candidacy for president Feb. 10 after losing badly in New Hampshire.
"When I was running for president, I wanted to beat him and he wanted to beat me," Christie said. "But that part of the conversation is over. The question is, who is the best person to stop Hillary Clinton getting back into the White House? This is the best person."
Trump said, "To me, it's a very big endorsement. Generally speaking I'm not big on endorsements. This was one endorsement that really meant a lot. Chris is an outstanding man, with an outstanding family. He's done a great job, and I think this is the one endorsement that I felt very strongly about that I wanted to get."
Trump said that he and Christie did not discuss any future position in a possible Trump White House administration, and Christie said he was not offered one. Christie worked as a federal prosecutor before becoming New Jersey governor but can't run again for governor because of term limits. Christie said he intends to serve his full term, then go into the private sector.
Christie quickly showed his value to the Trump campaign, and his likely role: attack dog. He tore into Florida Senator Marco Rubio repeatedly at the announcement, after Rubio went on the attack against Trump at a debate last night in Houston.
"It’s one act after the other," Christie said of Rubio. "W e don't need any more of these Washington, D.C. acts. The problem is Washington, D.C., and we don’t need Washington politicians to come in and fix it ."
Christie also chided Rubio for his attacks on Trump. "Desperate people in campaigns do desperate things. The fact of the matter is, no one is gonna get inside this guy's head," Christie said of Trump.
Trump joined the fight, saying Rubio is so nervous and shaky that he's not fit to be president.
"I watched a part of his little act and he’s a desperate guy. He’s a nervous nelly," Trump said. "I watched him backstage. He’s a mess. I've never seen a human being sweat like this man sweats."
Trump added; "Once a choker, always a choker.. . .Marco Rubio is a lightweight, He doesn't have the talent, he doesn't have the temperament, he can never make us great."
Immediately after the Trump-Christie announcement, Ohio Governor John Kasich issued a news released about an endorsement of his own: former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman.
Polls suggest Trump has a significant lead heading into the eleven contests where Republicans will award delegates on March 1, known as "Super Tuesday." A Bloomberg poll of seven southern states that will vote on Tuesday showed Trump leading with 37 percent of likely Republican voters. Rubio and Ted Cruz, of Texas were tied in second with 20 percent, according to the poll, which was conducted between Feb. 22 and Feb. 24.
Both Rubio and Cruz increased their political attacks at the Republican presidential debate Thursday night in Houston. Earlier Friday, Rubio continued attacking Trump at a campaign rally in Dallas. "It's time to pull his mask off so people can see what we're dealing with here, and what we're dealing with is a con artist," Rubio said. "He made his entire career sticking it to the little guy."
Trump has used high-profile endorsements to dominate news cycles before significant contests. Just ahead of the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses -- where he placed second behind Cruz -- Trump announced he'd received the endorsements of Sarah Palin and evangelical leader Jerry Falwell Jr.
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