New Jersey governor Chris Christie is far from being a favorite in the Republican race for the White House, but this didn’t stop front-runner Donald Trump from unleashing a series of attacks upon this this Monday, mentioning New Jersey’s decaying economy and the George Washington Bridge scandal.
Trump’s statements come as a response to an editorial written by the publisher of the New Hampshire Union Leader, calling his campaign “an insult to the intelligence of Republican voters.”
Is Mr. Christie trying to influence Trump’s voters?
Chris Christie, currently endorsed by the Union Leader and gaining a significant amount of trust in New Hampshire, was accused of encouraging Joseph W. McQuaid, the publisher, to actually write the editorial and create a negative image for Donald Trump.
“This is the way Chris is,” Trump said in an interview given to a New Hampshire TV station. He also mentioned that the fact that somebody is backing Chris Christie is actually ridiculous, since New Jersey was the “worst state in the union in terms of economics.”
Even more, Donald Trump said that the taxes in New Jersey and the nine downgrades by Wall Street ratings agencies of the state’s debt are simply the result of Chris Christie bad leadership and that everything started back in 2010, when the Governor took office. It’s more than obvious that this was a slight reference to the criticism of Christie made by Florida Governor Jeb Bush, another Republican candidate.
Currently, New Jersey is the last state in the United States when it comes to tax climate ranks, according to the right-leaning Tax Foundation.
The ‘2012 hug’ wasn’t forgotten
Trump didn’t forgot about the moment in 2012, when Christ Christie greeted President Barack Obama after Hurrican Sandy hit the Shore, shortly before that presidential election.
“He was so warm and so happy to have Barack Obama in the state of New Jersey that I personally think it could have cost [GOP nominee Mitt] Romney the election,” Trump said.
After this episode, Donald Trump said that he started believing that Chris Christie was planning to vote for Barack Obama, despite the fact that they belong to different parties. When asked about this, a spokeswoman for Christie’s campaign did not gave a response.
Surprisingly or not, Trump is not the only one accusing Chris Christie of sympathizing Barack Obama more than he should. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, another runner-up for the GOP nomination, mentioned during the first debate, in August, the moment when Christie ‘hugged’ the President.
Chris Christie is winning ground in New Hampshire
The moment went unnoticed until recently, as the New Jersey governor started to climb in the polls in New Hampshire, the state that holds the country’s first primary, on February 9.
According to Philly.com, Donald Trump also declared that it was “impossible to believe” Christie did not know about the George Washington Bridge lane closures in September 2013.
“Chris can’t win because of his past,” he said. “I don’t believe you’ve heard the last of the George Washington Bridge, because there’s no way he didn’t know about the closure of the George Washington Bridge, and all of his people are now going on trial in the very near future. And they’re going on criminal trial. There’s no way he didn’t know about it.”
