The Political Tragedy of Chris Christie

It's time for Chris Christie to drop out of the race.

Wikimedia Commons, Gage Skidmore

Earlier this year, I was largely in favor of Chris Christie’s presidential candidacy—not because I would ever consider supporting him, but because I thought it would help boost Trump alternatives who had to walk a more delicate balance between praising and criticizing the former president.

During the first two debates, Christie channeled almost all of his energy into challenging Trump or his campaign surrogate, Vivek Ramaswamy. But in the last month or so, Christie’s strategy has taken a shift. He seems to be operating under the delusion that he can actually win. 

While I hesitate to praise Ramaswamy, he is right about one thing: Chris Christie’s campaign is motivated only by ‘vengeance and grievance.’ Make no mistake, Chris Christie is not, by any stretch of the imagination, the ‘principles first’ candidate for president.

The tragedy of Chris Christie lies in the fact that he has already had his downfall but still insists on being a major political figure. Everyone but Christie knows that he has no shot at winning this nomination. According to one recent poll, 65% of Republicans have an unfavorable view of the former New Jersey governor, compared to just 12% who view him in a positive light.

As Christie continues his rampage against the former president, it seems that many have forgotten that Christie made a relatively early endorsement of Trump in February 2016, which was heavily criticized at the time.

Christie’s former campaign finance co-chair called the move "an astonishing display of political opportunism"” while then-governor Nikki Haley said, "Chris is a dear friend but none of us understands why he did this." Indeed, the ridicule of his endorsement was widespread among those who could see that Christie desperately wanted to be Trump’s running mate.

But while Christie pandered to Trump and danced around like a court jester, he was slowly pushed out of Trump’s inner circle. Christie, a former federal prosecutor, had put Jared Kushner’s father in prison, and Kushner held a grudge. Thus, Christie was forced to watch the monster he helped create from a distance. But I do not believe Christie truly cares about the destruction of norms or abandonment of principles—he is just mad that it was someone else who was doing it. Chris Christie played with fire as an early adopter of Trumpism and was surprised he got burned. 

If his goal truly were to ensure that Trump is never elected president again, he would have dropped out already and endorsed either Nikki Haley or Ron DeSantis. But that is not his goal. He is trying to get in his last breath of political relevance. Chris Christie simply is a bully who got out-bullied, and despite his attempts to reposition himself as some noble truth-teller, he remains the same political opportunist he was in 2016.

It is time for him to drop out of this race. No more excuses.

Benjamin Rothove is an undergraduate at University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studies Economics. He is the Chairman of UW-Madison Students for DeSantis and Wisconsin Students for DeSantis. He is the Vice Chair of Young Leaders for Keep Nine. @BenjaminRothove