Christie Emerges As Trump’s Right Hand.

After his defeat in the Republican primaries, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, was quick to endorse Donald Trump. Several GOP leaders decried the move as nothing more than opportunism, but Christie has become one of Trump’s top advisers and is on the short list for the VP slot.

While many members of the GOP have been slow to throw their support behind Trump, Christie has wholeheartedly embraced his former rival and has often appeared with Trump at campaign events and defended the former reality star from attacks.  While Christie has been a very public figure in the Trump campaign, his most important contributions might take place behind closed doors. Trump is widely disliked in some Republican circles and Christie’s insider status has done a lot to help build bridges between the self-described outsider, Trump, and the GOP establishment.

That’s not to say that those efforts have been wholly successful as Trump’s campaign currently lags behind in Hillary Clinton’s in terms of endorsements and money raised. Some have even speculated that Christie’s endorsement of Trump could be a black mark on Christie’s once bright political career. Joel Maiola, who once worked on Christie’s campaign says he believes Christie is being misused:

“I think he’s been diminished by the way the Trump organization has used him, and I think that’s really unfortunate. He[Trump] just seems to blow up the efforts that Governor Christie has been making to sort of form those alliances and form those bridges.”

As a more concrete example, Christie’s poll numbers, which were already low, have been getting lower since his endorsement of Trump.

This endorsement has also cost Christie in another way: respect. Christie made his claim to fame as being a tough no-nonsense politician, but his new role as Trump’s adviser has made some seem as little more than Trump’s lapdog. For his part, Christie does not seem bothered by the complaints and seems content to play a behind the scenes role, at least until Trump announces his VP.

Featured image via Flickr/Michael Vadon