We are finally seeing the incredible shrinking Republican presidential field. Chris Christie's withdrawal is the latest reminder that Donald Trump can routinely get away with what the other candidates cannot.Consider: Christie clearly hurt Marco Rubio in Saturday night's heated exchange about the Florida senator's readiness to be president. But the New Jersey governor didn't obviously help himself either, and may have suffered some self-inflicted wounds in the process.
It's easy to remember that Christie first rose to conservative stardom because of YouTube videos showing him not taking any guff from Democratic questioners at town halls. Some of Christie's interlocutors had generally been thought of as sympathetic figures: schoolteachers, albeit unionized ones, Hurricane Sandy victims with complaints about how the relief aid was being distributed.
Go online and it's not hard to find videos titled "Chris Christie gets into a shouting match with an idiot" or "Christie tells man to sit down and shut up." Christie "destroys" various questioners, reporters and opponents on YouTube going back to his first term as governor. (The most recent example can be found in the titles of videos describing his exchange with Rubio.)
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04.19.2024