What The Hell Is Chris Christie Up To, Anyway?

Chris Christie mocking Donald Trump, tagging him as his "own worst enemy" and even calling out his fancy Peter Millar country club wardrobe.

Christie talking about a "family of grifters" but not in reference to the Bidens -- no, instead he's talking about the Trumps.

Christie refusing to say that he will support the eventual 2024 GOP presidential nominee* even though that's what the RNC wants him to do as a condition for participating in the debates.

Christie being booed at the Faith and Freedom Coalition conference in Washington and taunting the crowd, replying "you can boo all you want" but "he's let us down" and "people have to stand up and take accountability for what they do."

Am I surprised at any of this? Not really, not one bit. And you wouldn't be either if you knew Chris Christie as I do. Here's why:

• There's a part of Christie that's a riverboat gambler. He actually likes long odds. He gets off defying the so-called experts, especially when going after what he calls the "Big Things." And there's no Bigger Thing than the presidency. 
• Christie loves the drama of politics and he delights in playing the role of the provocateur. It doesn't bother him that this may rub some people the wrong way. He calls it as he sees it and he can give as good as he gets, and then some. Plus, once he steps onto the stage he regales in the well-timed riposte.
• Christie may very well have concluded that Trump will probably not be the 2024 presidential nominee anyway -- that Trump's legal problems are so numerous and so real that it will all catch up with him. So maybe Christie wants to be ready when that happens -- not to say "I told you so" but to say "I told you we needed to move beyond this. Yes, we've wasted time with all this, but I'me the one who's best positioned now to make that time up and move us ahead."
• Christie prizes loyalty. He stepped out and supported Trump way ahead of the others. And he stuck with Trump through some of the darkest days. Remember, Christie defended Trump even after Trump stiffed him, removing him as transition chair; not making him attorney general; allowing his son-in-law to determine Christie's fate; refusing to take his advice and even transmitting the Covid virus to him. Christie was loyal to trump. Trump wasn't loyal to Christie. Payback time.
• And suppose Christie doesn't get the nomination but plays a key role in preventing Trump from getting it. Then, Christie's well-positioned to be rewarded if the eventual nominee is elected. In fact, he may be able to pick whatever cherished plumb he has in mind.
• You can aspire to the presidency once or twice, not make it an still come up a winner the next time. That's how Reagan and Biden did it.
• And, in 2024 if Trump is nominated and is elected? Christie's certainly not without options. His myriad of talents (as an administrator, lawyer, commentator and celebrated personality) remain very much intact. He's certainly not the type to drift gently into anonymity. 

One final thought: Politics is a strange and funny business. It's grand opera without a script, without a libretto. Some of us remember when a president won a landslide victory only to be forced to resign. And then a virtually unknown governor (a peanut farmer, no less!) became president. Then an over-the-hill movie actor stepped into the role and became a real-life hero. And not long after that another obscure governor from a southern state unseated an incumbent president. And this was followed by W. Bush and Bush v. Gore and Obama (a junior senator with little experience) and Trump's astounding upset and Covid and Joe Biden's stealth campaign and muddled victory. 

Chris Christie's an avid baseball fan. He understands the complicated nature of a thinking person's sport where everything can and does happen. Maybe that's why he likes politics so much -- a game whose incalculable nature fuels a happy warrior.

*For our part, let it be known that we will support the eventual GOP nominee whoever that may be.