Chris Christie endorses Trump
Chris Christie endorses TrumpReuters

Days after suspending his own presidential bid, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Friday offered a surprise endorsement to Donald Trump, CNN reports.

Christie explained the move by saying there is no one better prepared to lead the country or defeat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton should she become the Democratic nominee.

"I am proud to be here to endorse Donald Trump for president of the United States," the New Jersey Republican told reporters at a press conference in Texas. "The best person to beat Hillary Clinton on that stage last night is undoubtedly Donald Trump."

Christie becomes the first of Trump's former rivals for the Republican nomination to endorse the billionaire presidential candidate, who has now won three out of four primary contests and is increasingly viewed as the most likely candidate to become the GOP nominee.

In his remarks, Christie pledged he would help Trump campaign for the presidency through the general election in November. He introduced Trump at a rally Friday in Fort Worth, Texas and will also appear with Trump in Oklahoma City on Friday evening.

A source close to Christie told CNN that the governor's decision came down to a few factors, in particular the fact that the governor thinks that Donald Trump will inevitably the party's nominee.

The source also said the disdain which Christie displayed toward Rubio in final debate before the New Hampshire primary was not just politics or debate theater -- it is Christie's actual attitude toward Rubio.

At that debate, Christie ripped into Rubio and accused him of having never been involved in “a consequential decision, where you had to be held accountable, you just simply haven’t.”

When Rubio kept making the same arguments to counter Christie, the latter mocked him for regurgitating his “memorized 25-second speech”.

At Friday’s news conference announcing the endorsement of Trump, Christie repeatedly attacked Rubio, calling his behavior at Thursday's debate “desperate” and reflective of a “losing campaign”, according to The New York Times.

"Desperate people do desperate things," Christie said, when asked about Rubio's comments, adding that his remarks were the "flailing punches in the final days of the campaign."

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)