Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has suspended his Republican presidential campaign, ending his bid as the sole candidate willing to criticize Donald Trump. Here’s the full story.
Anti-Trump Drop Out
The former Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, is reportedly suspending his campaign for the Republican Presidential nomination, according to several news sources.
Christie’s campaign was notable as he was the only Republican candidate who used his platform to speak out and take a stance against Donald Trump.
In contrast, the candidates still in the running either fully support Trump, refuse to speak out against him, or are competing to be as Trump-like as possible. Possibly due to this, Christie’s campaign has not made an impact in the ongoing contest, with Christie previously polling in single digits against the remaining contenders.
“Truth Matters” All of a Sudden
Christie, whose campaign slogan was “Truth Matters”, based his entire run on criticizing former President Donald Trump.
It’s not hard to see why, considering Trump is currently facing 91 criminal charges, including some for attempting to overturn the 2020 election, several civil cases, and is also facing efforts to exclude him from the ballot in states as varied as Colorado and Maine.
This political Damascene conversion may have come as a surprise to many, considering that Christie was a long-time ally and, following Trump’s successful presidential campaign, advisor to the former President.
Christie endorsed him in 2016 and even remained in the Trump camp after suffering a severe case of COVID-19, which many blamed on Trump’s lackluster policies against the virus, such as refusing to wear masks and undermining the efforts of the CDC to contain the spread of the pandemic.
Christie puts this change of heart down to witnessing the attempted insurrection that took place on January 6th, 2021. In a recent campaign ad, Christie owned up to his perceived mistake, stating “”Eight years ago when I decided to endorse Donald Trump for president, I did it because he was winning, and I did it because I thought I could make him a better candidate and a better president. Well, I was wrong, I made a mistake.”
Either With Us or Against Us
During the debates and while campaigning, Christie used his platform to strongly criticize Trump and even called out the remaining contenders for their ongoing support of the legally embattled President.
However, Christie’s about-face did not play with Republican hardline voters, who see Trump as their ticket back into the White House and whose support for the former President veers from the merely total to the outright fanatical.
Christie was also heavily criticized for going against perceived Republican ideals, values, and political aims.
Christie had other problems that faced his doomed bid for President. Republican voters had and continued to be suspicious of him for his past as the governor of a predominantly Democratic state on the east coast, New Jersey, which put him in the same camp as their much hated Coastal elites.
The Butterfly Effect
Christie was also a key figure in the 2013 Bridgegate scandal, in which the George Washington Bridge was closed unexpectedly, causing major traffic congestion and problems for emergency services, who were not notified of the bridge closure.
The closure was viewed widely as a political maneuver to get revenge on the mayor of Fort Lee, Mark Sokolich, who had refused to support Christie in the New Jersey gubernatorial elections.
Several prosecutions followed, and many blamed this incident for Christie’s failure to gain traction in the 2016 Presidential election, where he had been seen as a frontrunner. This ultimately paved the way for Trump’s successful run that same year.
Failure to Bridge the Gap
Chris Christie’s decision to pull out of the Republican presidential race underscores not only the challenges he faced, but also the challenges faced by anyone in the current crop of Republicans who are willing to speak out against Donald Trump.
Despite failed attempts to distance himself from Trump, which some anti-Trump Republicans perceived as too little, too late, and which the vast majority of Republicans viewed as an unacceptable attack on their Presidential hopeful, Christie failed to offer enough to either camp to gain sufficient support.
As the remaining contenders continue to battle it out, and with Donald Trump conspicuous by his absence in the debates, the impact of Christie’s removal from the race remains to be seen.
The post Chris Christie Suspends Campaign, Endorses Trump for President first appeared on Swift Feed.
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Christopher Halloran.