The ins and outs of President-elect Donald Trump and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s personal and professional relationships have fascinated politicos and pundits for much of the 2016 presidential election. Christie, who campaigned against Trump for the Republican party’s top spot before leaving the race and endorsing the eventual victor, found himself defending many of the Donald’s more outrageous claims throughout the campaign. And when it came time to help Trump transition into the White House, the governor lost the job to Vice President-elect Mike Pence because of his ongoing “Bridgegate” scandal.
Christie also lost out on being Trump’s VP after former campaign manager Paul Manafort engineered Pence’s pick instead. According to a new CNN report, however, it seems Trump — not Christie — was the one who saw himself receiving the early boot:
“Trump told Christie in 2015 that he didn’t expect to make it past October — at which point he would endorse Christie, according to a Christie adviser who asked not to be named in order to speak about behind-the-scenes maneuvers.”
The unconfirmed bit of political trivia comes from CNN’s upcoming book Unprecedented: The Election That Changed Everything, which hits shelves almost a month after Trump’s presidential upset on December 6th.
The same unnamed Christie adviser also suggests Trump and his former employer “always had an understanding that the first one out would probably endorse the other.” This ultimately happened, though considering the rather contentious nature of their relationship as displayed by public affirmations and disagreements, it seems a small miracle Trump still considers Christie a top contender for several cabinet positions in his administration.
(Via CNN)