Jerseyites interviewed on News 4 New York tonight were less than enthralled with Chris Christie’s endorsement of Donald Trump. Surprisingly, the men who spoke were more dead set against this brotherhood than were the women. A few of the women said they would probably consider voting for Trump as a result of Christie’s blessing, but the men were firmly entrenched against both and said they would not be voting for Trump no matter what.
If the bully boys eating up most of the air time on cable today got on your last nerve, this has to soothe.
Whitman scorches Christie over Trump, prefers Hillary | Moran
Chris Christie and his wife Mary Pat, LEFT, with former New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman at the Monmouth County GOP Headquarters in Freehold, NJ (Jennifer Brown / Star-Ledger)
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on February 26, 2016 at 4:58 PM, updated February 26, 2016 at 6:08 PMGov. Chris Christie’s endorsement of Donald Trump is giving many people in New Jersey indigestion, but none more than former Gov. Christie Whitman, a Republican who has watched in horror as her party drifted rightward for the last decade.
I have a full column on Christie’s shameless stunt coming tomorrow, but I wanted to share Whitman’s quotes right away.
First, she says she’s planning to vote for Hillary Clinton if Trump gets the nod. She’s keeping her options open, in case we find out something new and horrible about Hillary. But that’s her plan now:
“You’ll see a lot of Republicans do that,” Whitman told me. “We don’t want to. But I know I won’t vote for Trump.”
The real juice came when I asked her about Christie’s move:
There has been a bit of a love hate relationship between Whitman and Jerseyites. Elected twice to the Governor’s mansion, she was seriously courted by some to run for president while many residents said “Go ahead! Take her out of NJ!” But when George W. Bush did remove her from NJ mid term, some of us felt remorse.
Bush drafted her to head the EPA, and Christie went to DC much the way Hillary went to the Senate – nose to the grindstone with the intention of fulfilling her obligations honorably and honestly. When the administration kneecapped her placing obstacles before her efforts all along the way, she finally resigned.
It rankled. She had given George W. Barney. The adorable Scottish Terrier was the son of her own dog, Coors. Barney was only a tiny puppy at the time and was too young to move into the White House for several weeks. Like “First Kids,” presidential pets are non-partisan and generally well-liked. We were proud of our little Jersey dog in DC. It was disheartening that W. should take our governor away, accept her gift, and then treat her so badly.
In recent years, Christie has remarked about the state of the Republican Party and the turns it has taken. In early 2005, she released a book entitled It’s My Party, Too: Taking Back the Republican Party… And Bringing the Country Together Again. Today’s reaction does not come as much of a surprise to those of us in NJ who have heard or read of her dissatisfaction with the party, but for those unfamiliar with Christine Todd Whitman, even for those of us who are less than surprised, the comments put a rainbow on the end of a stormy day.
Tom Moran promises a follow-up tomorrow. Meanwhile, as a Jersey girl, I am proud of my former governor!
Still4Hill 