I watched some of the Republican debate the other night and I don't seem to be able to go to any current events website without it showing me a clip of Chris Christie. If I didn't know this man's history, I might be impressed with the guy. There was a reason he left the governorship of New Jersey with an approval rating only slightly lower than that of Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Chris Christie calling Donald Trump a bully is like…well, like Donald Trump these days accusing someone else of cognitive decline.
I also watched a little of a town hall meeting Christie did recently and about 80% of what I heard was the kind of straight talk I wish we got more of from politicians. You can watch a little of it here. Actually, you could watch all of it there but you won't. Believe me, you won't.
I had to keep reminding myself that some of the best con artists and crooks in the world can say all the right things 80% of the time. Some of them can even do it 99% of the time and then turn around and screw you on the remaining 1%. They lull you into a false sense of trust…then you blink and suddenly they've got your pants.
I continue to be amazed at how Trump, his lawyers and cohorts like Rudy Giuliani are losing darn near 100% of their legal filings and motions. When all these arraignments and trials started, I figured they'd win some but lose more…but they're losing just about every single one. Christie's been getting booed, at the debate and elsewhere, for saying Trump is going to be convicted of at least one felony. I wonder how how many of those who booed think…
- Trump's innocent of all charges so he can't possibly be convicted
- Trump's guilty of something but he shouldn't be convicted because the prosecution is dishonest
- Trump's guilty of something but he shouldn't be convicted because they want him as President anyway
- Trump's guilty, he'll probably be convicted of something but Christie should be out there supporting him anyway
- Christie's right but we don't like being reminded of it
- Some other combination that makes even less sense than any of these
Christie's probably right when he says that Haley and DeSantis are running to be Trump's Veep or in his cabinet…and/or to position themselves for the 2028 Presidential Election. If the latter, it would mean they assume Trump will lose this time — because if he wins, there might not be a 2028 Presidential Election. Ramaswamy looks like he's running just for the attention, the way Pat Buchanan used to. But what the heck is Christie running for? Among all voters nationally, he's polling at 2.7%
The polls don't mean much yet. At this point in the election that gave us President Trump, Ben Carson was ahead of him in fighting for the Republican nomination. But still…2.7%? That's about what Mickey Mouse gets in protest write-ins. It's half of where Ramaswamy is at the moment and no one even thinks he's a serious candidate.
If you announced your candidacy tomorrow, you'd be within the margin of error of tying or beating Christie. The man's in the same lonely boat as Rudy: Republicans don't like him since he broke with Donald and Democrats haven't liked him since he signed on with Donald in the first place.