My view is that Christie did it as a last-ditch attempt to peel off enough votes to remain a viable candidate. The easiest target was Marco Roboto - debate take-downs usually occur after the candidate repeats the same thing over and over again on the campaign trail...just ask Dan Quayle about his referencing of Jack Kennedy and he being of similar age. Rubio was Christie’s biggest threat, the emerging Establishment candidate after Iowa, and Christie wanted that position. Oh, well, it wasn’t meant to be.
WRT Christie being in the Trump Administration...I could see him as the A.G. or the head of Homeland Security, but NOT as V.P. First, the guy is a good attorney and would aggressively fight the government’s battles; if at DHS, he’s had lots of experience with fighting/containing terrorism because of where his state is located and his legal experience. Second, if he is the VP candidate, Trump may well lose - there are LOTS of conservatives who could stomach Trump of there was a conservative on the ticket (Sarah Palin on McCain’s ticket, anyone?), but if the potential successor is just another RINO they will stay home. I don’t think that Trump is that stupid...or stupid enough to think that 2 guys from the Northeast makes for a balanced ticket.
Yep. A NY/NJ ticket with two loudmouths isn’t happening.
But Trump wouldn’t have been able to take down (for now, at least) Jeb or Christie Rubio if their jabs didn’t reinforce a sense that people already had about the candidate.
Same thing with Perry forgetting the third department that he said he’d eliminate—people were already afraid he was the idiot he sounded like.