Did Trump Promise Christie The AG Job Or Is Christie Much, Much Smarter Than That?

Republicans went into full meltdown when Chris Christie broke with the loosely defined “Establishment” to endorse Donald Trump.

As the “Making America Great Again” convoy merged into “some traffic problems in Fort Lee,” the Republican recriminations splashed into the media. Christie’s former money woman, Meg Whitman, called it “an astonishing display of political opportunism.” Bold words from a woman whose primary contribution to the world was making it easier to sell your vintage Toad the Wet Sprocket concert shirt collection online.

While some mused that Christie may be angling to serve as Trump’s running mate — an idea that our Dealbreaker colleague Thornton McEnery described as turning the race “into a Ronkonkoma Hummer dealership ad” — most settled on the possibility that Christie was angling for Loretta Lynch’s job. Even Donald Trump Jr. fed the flames by explicitly raising the idea.

So is Chris Christie really a shameless opportunist clumsily grasping for what he sees as the easiest path to swap his cage on Highway 9 for the Beltway, or is he playing the cards he’s dealt perfectly?

First of all, could Trump really have promised Christie anything? 18 U.S.C. § 599 provides, in relevant part:

Whoever, being a candidate, directly or indirectly promises or pledges the appointment, or the use of his influence or support for the appointment of any person to any public or private position or employment, for the purpose of procuring support in his candidacy shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

Conspiracy theorists on both sides of the aisle can now argue whether Trump or Hillary gets indicted first! Well, maybe not. As these Duke Law professors point out, the Supreme Court Brown v. Hartlage unanimously struck down a similar statute on First Amendment grounds and it’s hard to imagine any prosecution under this law getting off the ground.

But really, look at Christie’s options here. If Trump wins the nomination and presidency, he’s curried favor with the most powerful person on the planet and one who holds the keys to a job — or jobs — that Christie might want. But even if Christie expects Trump to lose, this little publicity stunt allows Christie to honestly say he’s never crossed a notoriously petty and vengeful billionaire who spends millions and millions of dollars propping up the desiccated faux Vegas that is Atlantic City. For a New Jersey governor, tempting Trump’s ire would be governmental malpractice.

What does he lose with this endorsement? Let’s dismiss the idea of Trump failing to secure the nomination, because at this point that might well require a contested convention and all bets are off there — Earl Warren’s Supreme Court seat was won by mercilessly stabbing his “friend” Robert Taft in the back. And if Hillary wins the election, Christie has four years to rebuild his insider cred.

When you look at it this way, it’s shocking Christie waited until his embarrassing campaign was over to declare his love of all things Trump.