Christie fades...

Christie fades from view in Trump campaign

By Matt Friedman

If Gov. Chris Christie was at Donald Trump's event in New Jersey Saturday night, nobody saw him.

During the final few weeks of the presidential campaign, as Trump falls further behind in the polls, picks fights with his own party’s leaders and makes unsupported claims about a "rigged" campaign, Christie — one of Trump’s most faithful surrogates since primary season — hasn’t been there to back him up.

The governor has not withdrawn his endorsement of Trump, despite calling the nominee's hot mic comments bragging about groping women “indefensible.”

But Christie — who has appeared on camera to defend all manner of Trump controversy over the course of the campaign — pulled out of an Oct. 9 appearance on CNN the day after the Trump hot-mic tape surfaced. (Christie was replaced by former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.)

The governor was also was notably absent from the audience at the presidential debate the next night, despite reports that he helped Trump campaign prepare for it.

The absence seemed consistent with a generally lower profile recently by Christie, who has taken to answering questions about Trump only to a friendly host on a sports talk radio show. Battered by negative headlines from the Bridgegate trial, Christie hasn’t held a press conference in which he took reporters’ questions since last month.

It's a stark contrast to Christie's energetic Trump advocacy as recently as mid-September, when he claimed on CNN that Trump hadn't in fact fanned the flames of a phony controversy over President Obama's birthplace for five years. After traveling to Texas to endorse Trump in February, Christie joined him at campaign events in Indiana, Virginia, Florida, as well as at a May rally in New Jersey where guests helped pay off Christie's debt from his failed presidential campaign.

And there was, of course, Christie's Republican National Convention speech that helped popularize the "Lock her up!" chants about Hillary Clinton that have since become a staple of Trump's rallies.

It’s not clear whether Christie was at Trump’s event in Edison this Saturday.

Christie confidante Bill Palatucci said he didn’t know, and Christie’s office did not respond to an email seeking comment.

State Sen. Sam Thompson, until recently the Middlesex County GOP Chairman, said he also didn’t know either. (Thompson arrived at the event as Trump was speaking and was not let in by the Secret Service.)

The governor’s recent approach to Trump reflects that of most New Jersey Republican elected officials, who are not openly opposing him, but are avoiding questions about him whenever possible.

But unlike them, Christie has an official role in Trump’s campaign as head of the presidential transition team.

State Sen. Joseph Pennacchio, one of the few New Jersey Republican lawmakers to maintain vocal support Trump throughout the campaign, said he doesn’t see why Christie would take a lower profile for Trump now. He said that just three or four weeks ago, the governor updated local Republicans on the status of the transition team at a restaurant in Far Hills.

“I don’t see why he would be,” Pennacchio said. “He does have his surrogates, but to think Christie’s distancing himself? Why? [He's] got a year and a few months left on his governorship.”

That’s the question Monmouth University pollster Patrick Murray is asking since Christie last Saturday, ignoring reporters, walked into Trump Tower while Trump was in crisis mode dealing with the hot mic recording.

“The last we know, he was there the day after the tape came out, and he really has not been seen with or for Trump since," Murray said.

"That’s a lot of time, considering you saw him on TV, you saw him heading to Bedminster for debate prep, on the Acela heading down for transition planning,” Murray said. “Something’s up. But I’m not sure what it is, whether it’s on his side or on Trump’s side.”