EDITORIAL: Christie backs a ‘Showtime’ presidency

So much for Gov. Chris Christie’s return to New Jersey and getting down to the business of running the state.

Fresh off the campaign trail after exiting the presidential race, Christie came home just long enough to fire off a budget plan that didn’t seem especially well thought out; he couldn’t even bother to include a proposal to address the state’s transportation funding shortage.

Now Christie’s back to his travels, popping up in Fort Worth, Texas Friday to endorse new best pal Donald Trump and declare Trump to be Republicans’ best hope for keeping Hillary Clinton out of the White House.

WATCH: Christie endorses Trump

Christie being Christie, we know there’s an angle here that goes beyond kind words for an admirable competitor. Is the governor grabbing on to Trump’s coattails and hoping for a spot in a Trump administration if The Donald wins in November? Is he hoping to be tapped as Trump’s vice president? Has a deal already been struck?

We do know Christie isn’t exactly re-embracing any commitment to his gubernatorial duties. While he took time during his Trump endorsement to say he has “every expectation” of finishing his term — which expires in January 2018 — we know that goes out the window with the first good offer from Washington. And it’s fair to guess that Christie, notorious for living high on the hog at taxpayer expense, doesn’t want to give up the perks of campaign extravagance.

Christie said he is prepared to lend support to Trump’s campaign between now and November “in every way that I can.” That doesn’t sound like a man focused on tackling New Jersey’s problems. That sounds like someone being fitted for a collar and leash.

Christie’s support of Trump isn’t a shocker, although it is predictably disingenuous. Earlier in the campaign Christie said Trump didn’t have the temperament to be president, calling Trump a “carnival barker” and declaring “Showtime is over.” Now, however, he says “there is no one better prepared to provide America with the strong leadership that it needs both at home and around the world than Donald Trump.”

So when was Christie lying?

It was Trump who largely usurped the campaign niche Christie hoped to carve out for himself as the courageous “Tell It Like It Is” candidate with executive experience preferable to products of a dysfunctional and ineffective Congress like senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz.

But Christie never went after Trump the way he did Rubio, for instance, as he fought Rubio for the mantle of a more mainstream alternative to Trump. Christie was also notably and inexcusably passive in responding to Trump’s outrageous comments about many thousands of New Jerseyans dancing in celebration of the Sept. 11 attacks at the World Trade Center.

Trump for his part rarely targeted Christie, although he did criticize the governor’s performance in New Jersey, noting the state’s miserable economic standing and other failings.

But all is put aside now in the quest for the greater Republican good — and Christie’s future employment.