Former Florida Gov. Christie, 60, only two days away from the Fox News debate, finds himself deflating quickly, not having 77-year-old former President Donald Trump to attack on the stage. Christie can only attack Trump in absentia, something he’s done for months on liberal TV and radio talks shows. Christie got all pumped up attacking Trump mercilessly on anti-Trump shows, knowing now that he’s robbed of a puncher’s chance in the upcoming debate. Christie put all his eggs in the attack-Trump basket, thinking he was scoring points with GOP voters. Turns out he was doing the opposite, actually turning off GOP voters, sick of listening to Christie yuck-it-up with liberal talk show hosts. Christie’s 2% polls show that few GOP voters like his message, only want him to stop disparaging Trump. Christie and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson are not long for the race.
Christie used the liberal media for free publicity since his campaign was burning through cash at a fast pace. Christie liked fooling around with liberal hosts looking for Republicans to attack Trump. Christie’s had a vendetta after Trump passed him over for attorney general in 2016, picking 77-year-old former Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Al.). Christie doesn’t recall that he was tainted with his Bridgegate scandal at the time, potentially dragging him into court over shutting down the GW Bridge to punish former Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich. Christie likes to rip Trump for his ethical breaches but doesn’t look to at his own. Without Trump in the room, Christie is left with an abysmal campaign, mirroring that of 80-year-old President Joe Biden, especially when it comes to the Ukraine War. Christie’s positions rubber-stamp Biden, giving other GOP rivals something to talk about.
Christie and his handlers know that all his high profile attacks on Trump for months have earned him only 2% in the GOP race, compared to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 19% and even Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) at 9%. Christie finds himself with Hutchinson and other lesser known candidates. No one with Christie’s media exposure should run so poorly without a disastrous campaign, doing exactly the wrong things to move up in the ranks. Christie miscalculates GOP voters, thinking, like him, the sought an alternative to Trump. GOP votera like Trump because he tells it like it is, not afraid to take on the fake news media, refusing accept any of the charges against him. Recent CBS poll indicates that Trump’s backers believe all the charges are politically motivated, not legitimate. So when Trump says he was framed by the government, his supporters fully believe him.
Christie has a bigger problem going into the Fox News debate than attacking Trump. He can’t figure out why he’s polling at only 2% putting him at the bottom of the GOP field, when he gets so much attention from the liberal press. Christie hasn’t figured out that voters don’t like his snarky-and-sarcastic disposition, leaving him at the bottom of the GOP heap. Christie has been so used to swiping at Trump from liberal talk shows he doesn’t have a real campaign himself, only paralleling the views of Biden, something revolting to GOP voters. Christie’s position on the Ukraine War mirrors Biden’s but, more importantly, he talks about confronting Communist China, promising, like Biden, endless wars under his watch. Christie won’t find too many GOP candidates agreeing that the U.S. can take a more aggressive stand on Beijing. What does Biden want, perpetual foreign wars?
Christie thought centering his campaign on attacking Trump would win him votes in the GOP primaries. At 2% he’s already got one foot out the door, showing no signs of pulling himself up. When he faces his rivals on the debate state, Christie won’t know how to present himself as a viable candidate without going after Trump. While Hutchinson might try to jump in, he’s only polling 1% even worse that Christie. DeSantis has the most to win in the Aug. 23 debate, rebooting his campaign, talking about his vision for the country, not simply attacking Trump. Everyone knows Trump’s shortcomings but don’t know how to presents themselves in front of the live GOP audience. Christie has run out of snark to made any headway at the debate. He’s got one shot left to make his case to GOP voters. Internet entreprenue Vivek Ransaswamy, running a distant third, has a shot to improve.
Christie’s flagging campaing is running out of air, no longer puffed up by appearances on liberal talks shows looking to attack Trump. Instead of working on his own message, Christie spent too much time slamming Trump, now leaving him without his own platform. Rubber-stamping Biden’s policies is a complete turn off to GOP primary voters, something that Christie faces. Attacking Trump when he’s not in the room looks distasteful, not to mention saying nothing about Christie’s ideas. When it comes to Christie pandering, like Trump’s former Attorney Michael Cohen or, worse yet jailed felon former attorney Michael Avenatti, it makes Christie look worse. Fox News isn’t happy it won’t profit from Trump’s ratings. When it comes to other GOP candidates, none on the stage have much chance of making up much ground on Trump, now becoming a GOP icon.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
