Heading into the New Hampshire primary, Gov. Chris Christie is blasting Marco Rubio and hoping the attacks can sustain his campaign in what’s quickly becoming a three-man race for the White House.
During an interview with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Thursday, Christie attacked Rubio’s record as a U.S. Senator.
“Marco Rubio hasn’t accomplished one thing in his entire career, Joe,” Christie said.”This is a guy who’s only done one thing in the U.S. Senate, that is write an amnesty bill for illegal immigrants and then to run away from it when the heat got turned up.”
Christie, currently serving his second term as governor of New Jersey, also compared Rubio to President Barack Obama, saying that Rubio’s career as a one-term U.S. Senator should set off alarm bells in the minds of Republican voters.
“Why do we think it will be any different with a first-term U.S. Senator from Florida, who quite frankly doesn’t show up to work anymore?” he asked.
Christie repeated the comparison of Rubio to Obama during an exchange with George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Thursday.
“He’s had no experience at all managing anything,” Christie said. “We’ve tried that once before.”
“We need to make sure to nominate someone who can not only beat Hillary Clinton, but also can manage to go and get it back on the right track once they’re elected President of the United States,” Christie continued. “We don’t need to take those chances…on someone who’s never managed anything larger than a 30-person senate staff.”
While on the campaign trail, Rubio is known for giving short speeches and not taking many questions while at the podium. Christie has repeatedly attacked the way the Florida senator conducts appearances, calling Rubio “the boy in the bubble.”
“[Rubio needs to] man up and step up and stop letting all of his handlers write his speeches and handle it because that’s what you have to do for someone who has never done anything in your life,” the New Jersey governor told reporters the morning after Rubio’s third place finish in the Iowa caucus.
Rubio’s strategy for securing the nomination is to place at least 3rd in Iowa, 2nd in New Hampshire, and 1st in South Carolina. As The Federalist publisher Ben Domenech has noted, if Rubio’s 3-2-1 strategy is a success, it position Rubio as the frontrunner in the Republican race for the White House.
His success in Iowa, clocking in at 23 percent just behind Donald Trump’s 24 percent, has made him a prime target going into the New Hampshire primary next week. Other candidates vying for moderate and liberal voters who may be eyeing Rubio–namely Christie, John Kasich, and Jeb Bush–know they must knock Rubio down a few notches in order to keep themselves in the race.
