b*****d
发帖数: 61690 | 1 Establishment Republicans reacted with a mix of shock, anger and sadness at
Chris Christie’s endorsement of Donald Trump on Friday, a stunning move
that undermines the GOP mainstream's efforts to prop up Marco Rubio’s
campaign against Trump.
“It’s pretty disgusting why he did it because he’s opportunistic,” said
Tony Fratto of Hamilton Place Strategies, who worked in the George W. Bush
White House. “His days of leadership in the Republican Party are done.”
Fratto also brought up how Christie had previously criticized Trump for his
anti-Muslim and immigrant comments. “Did he mean those things or is he a
liar?”
Endorsing Trump was “probably not his brightest political move. It’s right
up there with the bridge,” said Stuart Roy, a Tom Delay alum now with
Strategic Action Public Affairs.
“It will definitely be a dark cloud over his seriousness as an elected
leader," added Roy, one of whose clients is the American Future Fund, which
just launched a multimillion-dollar ad campaign attacking Trump for
allegedly ripping off students who attended Trump University. "He was a
serious federal prosecutor, he was a serious governor, he was a serious
presidential candidate and now this is an unserious endorsement."
Text: Donald Trump announces Chris Christie endorsement
Ryan Williams, a Romney alum now at FP1 Strategies, said that Christie had
gone from presumptive Republican front-runner a few years ago to “kissing
Donald Trump’s boots and trying to secure something out of an endorsement."
"To use Donald Trump’s words, it’s sad, exclamation point," Williams said.
Other Washington Republicans were more forgiving of Christie, who had been
well-respected in his party for winning over Democratic voters in a blue
state.
“I can’t wait to hear Christie sort of reconcile his legitimate Republican
credentialed point of view with Trump,” said Ed Rogers of lobbying firm
BGR Group. “I can’t wait to hear it: that Trump is a Republican, that
Trump is an authentic conservative, that Trump has the temperament and
judgment to be president. Please Christie, tell me that! I might believe it
from Christie because I have such respect for Christie.”
As to why Christie is now backing Trump, Rogers said, “No. 1, his
considered judgment of what he thinks is best for America, and number 2, he
wants to be attorney general.”
He called Christie’s endorsement “a big deal” because now Trump has a
surrogate who can be a thoughtful, but combative, advocate for why the
Manhattan billionaire should be put in the Oval Office.
Chris Christie endorses Donald Trump
Christie “is a shrewd political player and is surveying the scene and
deciding that Donald Trump is most likely to be the Republican nominee,”
said Steve Schmidt, a former senior adviser to John McCain. Christie
endorsing early “creates a permissive environment for other people to jump
across the room.”
Charlie Black, another former McCain adviser, argued that endorsements don’
t mean much anymore, but said that Christie’s could help Trump win in New
Jersey and may help in New York.
“I just don’t think it’s all that significant,” said Black, noting that
Jeb Bush had a ton of endorsements but failed to win any state.
Others chalked Christie's move up to personal ties.
“Trump is the master of letting the air out of the tires of opponents
whenever they get momentum or a good news cycle,” said Mark McKinnon, a
former media adviser for George W. Bush who is now involved in Showtime’s
political show “The Circus."
It is “no real surprise [that] Chris Christie would be slashing Marco’s
tires in this case. Christie has good history with Trump as his New Jersey
neighbor, and not such a good history with Marco,” McKinnon said.
Chris Christie endorses Donald Trump
Chris Christie endorses Donald Trump
By Nick Gass
Savvy move or not, Christie now has some fence-mending to do, others noted.
His campaign had attracted a number of moderate Republican backers like
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker and Maryland Governor Larry Hogan.
“There are a lot of Christie supporters right now who I’m sure are feeling
pretty burned. ...They’re going to have to disavow this move,” said
Williams. “This is a new degree of soul-selling for Chris Christie.”
“Chris Christie is only about Chris Christie,” said Fratto, and is just “
another person searching for relevance.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/02/christ-christie-donald-trump-gop-establishment-219878#ixzz41JkARjZF | t*******d
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