When the New Hampshire Union Leader endorsed Governor Chris Christie for president in November, the former presidential candidate did a victory lap and touted the endorsement as a massive success in the state where he had sunk most of his presidential efforts. Now, however, the state’s largest newspaper has said that they made the wrong choice in choosing to endorse Christie at the time.
In an editorial posted on Monday night, the paper’s publisher Joseph McQuaid claimed that Christie was a “bad choice” for the endorsement.
The editorial read: “Boy, were we wrong.”
“We endorsed Chris Christie in the New Hampshire Presidential Primary. Despite his baggage, we thought that as a Republican governor in a Democratic-leading state he had the skills and experience the presidency needs (and hasn’t had of late). We also thought he had the best chance to take on and face down Donald Trump.”
According to McQuaid, however, Christie proved his paper wrong when he chose to endorse businessman Donald Trump last week.
“Watching Christie kiss the Donald’s ring this weekend — and make excuses for the man Christie himself had said was unfit for the presidency — demonstrated how wrong we were,” McQuaid wrote. “Rather than standing up to the bully, Christie bent his knee. In doing so, he rejected the very principles of his campaign that attracted our support.”
Despite the conservative paper’s disdain for Trump, the controversial candidate managed to claim victory in the Granite State in their first-in-the-nation primary. Now, as Super Tuesday results loom, Trump seems poised to carry that victory into many more states, potentially solidifying his GOP frontrunner status.
For Christie, who has faced sharp criticism for both his own presidential campaign and the subsequent Trump endorsement, the decision to endorse Trump appears to be a power play as he angles to come out on top despite a presidential run that has left his reputation suffering. While much of the establishment disavows Trump, Christie’s alignment with him may prove beneficial as the upwardly mobile governor attempts to position himself for a higher office of his own.
