A New Hampshire newspaper that once endorsed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie in the 2016 GOP presidential primary has retracted its support for the Garden State executive, and said in an editorial this week that it’s embarrassed that it spoke kindly of the Republican.
“Boy, were we wrong,” the New Hampshire Union Leader editorial board said on Monday night. “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).”
The about-face comes after the New Jersey governor announced his support last week for billionaire businessman Donald Trump.
“I’ve been on that stage,” the failed 2016 presidential candidate said during a Trump press conference. “I’ve gotten to know all the people on that stage. And there is no one better prepared to provide America with the strong leadership that it needs both at home and around the world than Donald Trump,” Christie said at a joint press appearance in Texas alongside Trump.
The 2016 dropout also said Trump was the “clear standout” in a GOP debate held Thursday evening in Texas, adding that the businessman is “the person who will do exactly what needs to be done to make America a leader around the world again.”
Christie also said Trump is the best suited to take on Hillary Clinton, should she win the Democratic Party nomination.
“I can guarantee you that the one person that Hillary and Bill Clinton don’t want to see on that stage come September is Donald Trump,” the governor said. “They know how to run the standard political playbook against junior senators and run them around the block. They do not know the playbook with Donald Trump because he is rewriting the playbook.”
For the Union Leader, which has loudly opposed Trump’s candidacy, Christie’s endorsement of the casino tycoon amounts to little more than a total and complete sell-out.
“We also thought he had the best chance to take on and face down Donald Trump. 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,” the paper’s editorial board 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. Voters here apparently knew better than we. Most rejected Christie but divided their votes among several others, leaving Trump to claim victory,” they added. “And now, despite specifically telling us that he would never endorse him, Christie is backing Trump. If nothing else, that might wake up some Trump fans. We will look for that, just as soon as we get the egg off our face.”
The Union Leader’s retraction of its endorsement for Christie comes as six New Jersey-based newspapers have called on the Republican governor to resign.
