BEDFORD, N.H. — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie scaled back his explicit attacks on Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, and instead needled Donald Trump in advance of Saturday’s presidential debate.
Flanked by Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, Christie told a standing-room-only crowd gathered in a frigid warehouse that “showtime is over, it’s game time.”
“We got a debate tonight here in New Hampshire — I am so thrilled and happy that none of you people, I appreciate your restraint, none of you people made enough fun of Donald Trump to make him not come tonight,” Christie said. “He’s going to actually show up. Very excited about that to have Donald back. All the rest of us will be there to welcome him with open arms, we’re really happy that he’ll be back tonight.
The governor then compared the U.S. Senate to a grade school in a veiled shot at Rubio and Cruz.
“No one calls you at 4 a.m. when you’re a United States senator to let you know that your bill has been moved out of the subcommittee. That call can wait until 10 a.m. You can change your vote, and they’ve done it plenty of times,” Christie said. “You see when you’re a governor you have to actually decide and be held accountable for those decisions. We’re going to make sure all that’s made clear tonight.”
Ultimately, Christie sought to cast off comparisons with any of his rivals in an effort to directly appeal to Granite Staters, and noted that it was his 70th day in New Hampshire. He also noted it was his wife’s 52nd day in the state, which he pointed out was more than several of the other presidential candidates.
“This race is not about me and it’s not about Marco Rubio and it’s not about Donald Trump, it’s about the 45-year-old construction worker in New Hampshire who says my wages have gone down every year for the last seven years under Barack Obama,” Christie said. “This race is not about me or Jeb Bush or John Kasich, or Ben Carson, it’s not about us. It’s about the soldier, the soldier who feels his commander-in-chief has abandoned him… It’s about that soldier’s family.”
But for Lewis Cataldo, a Manchester schoolteacher still looking to make up his mind, the race has come down to Christie, Rubio and Kasich. Cataldo said he has begun to rule out Kasich because he does not think the governor is electable, despite Cataldo’s affection for his views.
“A lot of it this year is coming own to electability,” Cataldo said. “I keep going back and forth, I look at Christie and I say OK, he’s done well in a Democratic state, and the Republican Party, if they’re going to want to move forward with the demographic shifts they’re going to want to need to pick up more votes, and is he the guy to do it? And then I look at Rubio — can he get more of the Hispanic vote? But I think he’s a little too scripted and I feel like in a general election he’s just going to be a little too stiff in some ways.”But it’s probably now between Christie and Rubio, and I like Christie, his sort of spontaneity and genuine sincerity that I like.”
Cataldo, and all other New Hampshire voters, have until Tuesday to make up their minds and decide who the “Live Free or Die” state picks to become the next GOP nominee.
