New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie
poured everything he had into New Hampshire, clawing his way up the
polls in a crowded field and Donald Trump-dominated year while tainted by
scandal back home. And Marco Rubio threatened to take it all away. In
the last few weeks before Tuesday's primary, and under fire from Rubio and his
super PACs, Christie became pre-occupied with the Florida senator. Christie's
criticism of the candidate grew increasingly sharp behind closed doors,
according to people familiar with the conversations. He would see a Rubio
interview or read a story featuring Rubio and complain to staff or supporters
that he simply did not see the appeal. He listened to Rubio provide canned
quotes in each debate and, when attacked, refuse to look Christie in the eye
during his response, Christie told people. It was a sign of weakness -- and a
sign of a weak candidate -- in his view.
By Saturday night in
Goffstown, New Hampshire, after Rubio's surprising third-place finish in Iowa,
everyone knew what was coming, Rubio included. "Marco, the thing is
this," Christie said at the ABC debate at St. Anselm's College. "When
you're president of the United States, when you're a governor of a state, the
memorized 30-second speech where you talk about how great America is at the end
of it doesn't solve one problem for one person." Asked the next day how
Rubio could've missed what was coming, Christie resorted to "the great
political philosopher Mike Tyson," the famous former world
heavyweight-boxing champion. "Everyone has a plan until they get punched
in the face," Christie told reporters.
Christie, after all,
had been getting punched in the face for two years. He could now take credit
for wounding a candidate he and his team viewed as unprepared for the job. But
that would be the extent of his accomplishments in New Hampshire. Tuesday
night, he received his own knockout blow, finishing sixth in New Hampshire.
"I ran for president to say that the government needs to once again work
for the people, not the people work for the government. And while running for
president I tried to reinforce what I have always believed -- that speaking
your mind matters, that experience matters, that competence matters and that it
will always matter in leading our nation," Christie wrote in a Facebook
post. "That message was heard by and stood for by a lot of people, but
just not enough and that's OK." The story of Christie's rise and fall in
the state where he pinned all of his hopes is based on interviews with more
than a dozen of his advisers, donors, fundraisers, supporters and rival
campaign aides. In the end, Christie could not get past both his own personal
baggage and his status as another governor of a moderate or blue state selling
his personal appeal during a general election campaign to a Republican base
clearly looking for new blood.
