Chris Christie endorses Donald Trump

“I absolutely appreciate him as a person and as a friend,” Christie said Friday at a press conference before Trump’s rally in Fort Worth, Texas.

Christie’s endorsement, which immediately fueled vice presidential speculation, comes less than two weeks after he ended his own White House bid following a poor peformance in New Hampshire’s primary. It also follows a tough debate for Trump on Thursday evening where the businessman struggled to expand on his plan to repeal and replace Obamacare and defend his track record of supporting big-government policies.

“I’ve been on that [debate] stage and there is no one who is better prepared to provide America with the leadership she needs than Donald Trump,” Christie said. “He is the person who will do exactly what needs to be done to make America a leader around the world again.”

The two-term governor also described his Tri-state neighbor as someone “who when he makes apromise he keeps it” and the only Republican hopeful capable of defeating Hillary Clinton, the presumptive Democratic nominee, in November.

“You have to ask yourself, who is the best person to stop Hillary Clinton from getting to the White House? This is the best person,” Christie said, gesturing towards Trump.

Trump, who said earlier this week that endorsements “don’t matter,” said Christie’s endorsement is one he “felt very strongly about.”

Before exiting the New Hampshire race, Christie agressively went after Sen. Marco Rubio, a leading Trump rival, doing serious damage to Rubio’s campaign. Christie’s endorsement comes on a day when Rubio was seen as gaining momentum after a debate performance widely viewed as strong, and a morning at which he began mercilessly mocking Trump. Christie continued to hammer Rubio during the Thursday news conference, keeping up his line of attack that the freshman sentator doesn’t have the necessary experience to be president.