Chris Christie There He Goes Again
For Chris Christie and Donald Trump, Ties Go Back Years
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Trump and Christie's Evolving Roles
Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey has known Donald J. Trump for 14 years. The pair'southward relationship has changed over the past several months during the Republican race for the party nomination.
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Gov. Chris Christie says he first met Donald J. Trump fourteen years ago every bit a courtesy to Judge Maryanne Trump Barry, afterwards she told him, "My piddling brother actually wants to meet yous."
Mr. Christie had just get the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey. Mr. Trump owned casinos in Atlantic City, where it makes sense to accept friends in police force enforcement. Only Mr. Christie left friends and associates with the impression that he was simply as eager to run into Mr. Trump.
He began referring to Mr. Trump as "a friend of mine," the way he later on would Jerry Jones, the possessor of the Dallas Cowboys, whose private airplane and private box he enjoyed; Rex Abdullah, who hosted him on a lavish weekend in the Jordanian desert; Bono, the singer of U2, who joined them at parties there; and, after a long period of unrequited applause, Bruce Springsteen. Much similar Mr. Trump, Mr. Christie had shown that he liked to be around People Who Affair.
That request for a meeting from a large sis started a curious friendship of convenience — some call it deeply transactional — that led to Mr. Christie's surprise endorsement of Mr. Trump concluding calendar week in the Republican presidential race.
The endorsement could be their ultimate transaction: Mr. Trump, having seized Mr. Christie'due south position equally the tell-it-like-information technology-is candidate in the Republican master, is in a fierce fight to lock up the nomination. Mr. Christie, a term-limited governor estranged from his land after spending almost of his second term away from it, is looking to extend his relevance.
Mr. Christie defended himself against the blowback — the Net ridicule and denunciations from his financial backers, the calls for his resignation from the New Jersey Republicans who had once jumped at his command. At a news conference on Thursday, he said that he could govern his land and campaign for Mr. Trump at the aforementioned time, and scoffed at the reaction to his stand up-by-your-human appearance abreast Mr. Trump on Super Tuesday: "I wasn't being held hostage."
Those who know both Mr. Christie and Mr. Trump describe them as alike in many ways: Polarizing and self-regarding, each can summon the charm to brand an acquaintance experience like the just person in the room, and merely as quickly plough if a relationship no longer suits his interests. Mr. Trump is The Donald; Mr. Christie'southward re-election slogan was "The Governor."
"They both have very immense egos; they both sort of have the feeling that they take the power to exercise anything," said Alan Steinberg, who served in the administrations of Gov. Christie Whitman and President George W. Bush-league. (Mr. Steinberg supported Mr. Christie for governor but now backs Senator Ted Cruz of Texas for president.)
"They call back they tin can just bully their fashion through," he added. "They both skirt the edge; they both take tendencies toward mendacity. It's the perfect bromance."
Mr. Christie has told audiences variously that it was during a face-to-confront meeting or on a phone telephone call that Judge Barry, with the Us Courtroom of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in Newark, asked him to see her brother in 2002.
Mr. Christie was relatively new to public life, and eager for it; he had been a Morris County freeholder, but failed in his campaigns for higher office and was appointed federal prosecutor after his blood brother, Todd, donated handsomely to Mr. Bush'southward first presidential campaign.
Mr. Trump had long worked Atlantic Urban center politics to suit his casino interests, merely he had but lost a fight against a tunnel project that would serve a casino proposed by his longtime archrival, Steve Wynn; Mr. Trump called the tunnel "Steve Wynn's private driveway." Mr. Wynn now supports Mr. Trump for president.
Mr. Christie and Mr. Trump met over dinner at Jean-Georges, the celebrity-chef eating place in one of Mr. Trump's towers on the West Side of Manhattan. Mr. Christie recalled Mr. Trump's ordering for him when the chef, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, came out to greet him. ("The special matter you fabricated for me? We'll take 2 of those, too. ")
Three years later, Mr. Christie's friends in New Jersey were impressed when he was invited to Mr. Trump's third hymeneals, in Palm Beach, Fla.
"That was kind of a who's who," said Country Senator Joe Kyrillos, a longtime friend of Mr. Christie who every bit the New Jersey Republican Political party chairman helped him become a United States attorney, but supported Jeb Bush for president later a falling out with Mr. Christie. "I recollect Hillary was in that location, too." (The other nigh prominent New Jersey confront amongst the oversupply was George Norcross, a Democratic ability broker ofttimes described as the almost powerful nonelected person in the land, who was then a frequent golf partner of Mr. Trump's and afterwards helped Mr. Christie win and govern in a blue state.)
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Governor Christie Says He Won't Resign
In a news conference in Trenton, Gov. Chris Christie addressed calls for him to resign, his support for Donald J. Trump and his appearance at a recent Trump news briefing.
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Republicans were every bit surprised to see Mr. Trump in the third row of a Newark basilica for the Mass before Mr. Christie's inauguration in 2010. (Mr. Trump was not a stranger to New Jersey governors and their inaugurations; when Barry Manilow canceled a plan to play at Governor Whitman's inauguration party in Atlantic Urban center at the last minute, Mr. Trump prevailed on Paul Anka to fill in.)
Of course, whatsoever highly public relationship like the ane between Mr. Trump and Mr. Christie can make for awkward situations. As United states attorney, Mr. Christie went after Charles Kushner, a existent-manor developer and major New Jersey political donor who pleaded guilty in 2005 to taxation evasion and making illegal entrada contributions — and four years later became the father-in-law of Mr. Trump'southward daughter Ivanka.
Simply by 2010, Mr. Trump was then battling with some other rich New Yorker, Carl Icahn, to win dorsum control of his Atlantic Urban center casinos after they entered bankruptcy. He won a month afterward Mr. Christie'southward inauguration. A year subsequently, the governor, Mr. Trump and their wives landed on Folio Half dozen, in The New York Post, later another dinner at Jean-Georges. Mr. Icahn became a backer of Mr. Trump for president; Mr. Trump suggested he might engage him Treasury secretary.
Mr. Trump made a larger-than-usual donation, of $250,000, to the Republican Governors Association in 2014, when Mr. Christie led information technology. Mr. Kushner, too, has held at to the lowest degree one consequence for Mr. Trump at his home on the Jersey Shore.
"It started out professional, only I call up it's definitely evolved into a more personal relationship," Dale Florio, a longtime Republican fund-raiser in New Jersey, said of the Trump-Christie connectedness.
Others who know the two men describe their alliance more every bit an acquaintanceship, every bit many of Mr. Trump'due south relationships are. His true friendships are limited to the modest number of people he plays golf with in Palm Beach or at Trump National Golf Lodge Bedminster, which he created from the former estate of John DeLorean, the flamboyant auto industry executive, in the middle of New Jersey horse state. (Mr. Christie is not a golfer.)
Once they started to compete to exist the Republican nominee, the friendship became strained.
As Mr. Trump surged in the polls, one New Jersey political leader, who similar many people interviewed for this article did not want to exist identified out of fright of reprisals from either man, said he had urged Mr. Christie to directly face up Mr. Trump, proverb he was the only candidate who could practice it. Mr. Christie did non disagree, this person said, just "he was afraid to practise it — he'south never been afraid of anybody."
"He thought Trump would do to him what he did to Megyn Kelly," this person connected, referring to the Fox News anchor Mr. Trump relentlessly demeaned because he did not like her questions in an early on debate.
Mr. Trump, however, did non hold back. He alleged that Mr. Christie "totally knew" most the lane closings at the George Washington Bridge that were engineered to punish a perceived political enemy, and that the governor could never win the nomination given his swoop in popularity and his record in New Jersey.
But after Mr. Christie dropped out following his 5th-identify showing in the New Hampshire principal last month, he told allies he appreciated that Mr. Trump had called him that very night. The 2 men had a long talk.
Half dozen days later he dropped out, Mr. Christie told almost forty guests gathered over coffee and cookies earlier his budget address that he did not see a path to the nomination for anyone but Mr. Trump.
Still, on a phone telephone call ii days later, he told the state's Republican Party county leaders to "continue their powder dry out" when information technology came to endorsements, in the words of 1 person on the phone call.
A week afterward, he and his wife had breakfast with Mr. Trump at Trump Tower, in Manhattan. The governor jumped at the take chances to go to Texas to endorse his one-time rival.
"He would not have done this unless he thinks that the only path forward for him is with Trump, and that Trump is going to win," said a high-ranking Republican, referring to the governor.
Mr. Trump, standing next to Mr. Christie in Texas concluding month, said, "By and large speaking, I'm not big on endorsements. This was an endorsement that really meant a lot."
At his news conference on Thursday, Mr. Christie said that he had "no current plans" to go on the road with Mr. Trump again. Still, he remained unbowed.
"If he had non been in the race," he said, "I would take been the nominee."
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/08/us/politics/donald-trump-chris-christie.html
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