Guess who wants Donald Trump for president? Surprisingly enough, it’s one of his former competitors for the GOP nomination. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who recently stepped down from seeking the Republican presidential nomination, has had his share of verbal wars with Donald Trump. Now, however, it seems Christie is giving Trump his blessing and endorsing The Donald for president in 2016.
Though the move seems surprising, it actually makes sense when taking into consideration that Trump is currently the GOP frontrunner. Despite concerns that Trump does not have any relevant political experience (or any experience at all), he has managed to keep the public and the media’s attention long enough to make his voice heard. Word on the street is that if Donald does secure the GOP nomination (which seems likely), he will likely have a good chance of becoming President Trump.
Trump has appealed to conservative audiences (and possibly even shocked some of them) with his ideas, the most prominent of which are a repeal of Obamacare and stricter immigration policies. An America with Trump for president would also have stricter foreign policies towards ISIS, as shown by the Vice.comarticle in which Trumppromises to “cut the head off of ISIS and steal their oil.”
The move is definitely surprising given that Christie and Trump were having a battle of wits not that long ago. As Mediaite noted, Christie had previously labelled Trump as a “childish whiner.” During the first GOP debate, Christie also slung mud at Trump and the other Republican candidates for not having a tangible plan to defeat or deal with ISIS.
It seems some candidates are more content than others to acknowledge that Trump has a good chance at winning the GOP presidential nod. Marco Rubio and Trump continue to trade mocking words about one another’s campaign, and their debating each other doesn’t seem to be stopping.
Trump has previously been attacked by his fellow conservative candidates for shading former GOP nominee John McCain and mocking the fact that McCain spent time in captivity during his service in the Korean War, stating “I like people who don’t get captured.” It is indeed strange to see such a sudden reversal from Christie and several other important Republican candidates in their endorsement of Trump for president.
“The one person that Hillary and Bill Clinton do not want to see on that stage is… #DonaldTrump .” – @ChrisChristie https://t.co/Tc7uSMuqRN
— Fox News (@FoxNews) February 26, 2016
Some on Twitter have pointed out their concerns about Christie’s backing of Trump for president in 2016, with one tweet accusing Christie of having sold out every principle he had to support Trump. While both Trump and Christie are conservatives, Christie has been said to be more moderate and leaning slightly to the left on fiscal and other issues, while Trump has stood his ground and clearly leans much further right. That’s what makes this partnership especially interesting, and also slightly unexpected.
Trump and Christie do have some platitudes in common, though. Neither Christie, nor Trump , view abortion as a woman’s right, for instance, and both want to loosen restrictions set in place by the EPA. Christie is okay with the current laws allowing same-sex marriage, however, whereas Trump is not and would likely change them if elected.
Contrary to what is being said in the media, Christie does not necessarily need to change his viewpoints to support Trump for president. An endorsement from a fellow conservative is just simply that, and does not mean Christie will have to change his political views to match those of Trump’s.
[Image Via LM Otero, AP Photo]