There was a time when I was fond of Chris Christie. But the struggles of his New Jersey governorship and his embrace of Trump soured me. (The thing that soured most people — his embrace of Obama after Hurricane Sandy — did not bother me. Politicians working together during a crisis used to be uncontroversial.)
So it’s somewhat satisfying to see the ritual humiliation of Christie. He hasn’t gotten a role in the Administration, likely due to the ongoing Bridegate scandal. And then there’s this:
The Republican governor said while guest hosting a New York sports talk radio show Thursday that Trump pointed out the menu and told people to get whatever they want. Then he said he and Christie were going to have the meatloaf.
‘‘This is what it’s like to be with Trump,’’ Christie said. ‘‘He says, ‘There’s the menu, you guys order whatever you want.’ And then he says, ‘Chris, you and I are going to have the meatloaf.’’’
Trump said ‘‘I’m telling you, the meatloaf is fabulous,’’ according to Christie.
Trump and Christie discussed the nation’s opioid epidemic during the lunch.
This is, of course, part of Trump’s 1980’s alpha-male business bullshit. It also shows up in his weird handshakes where he pulls people toward him and won’t let go. But it has to be humiliating for Christie, who once thought he would be Trump’s Vice-President.
It’s also given me a new phrase. From now, any time the Republicans acquiesce to a bad Trump policy, I shall call it “eating the meatloaf”. For example, if the Republicans agree to reopen NAFTA, I will say, “It looks like the Republicans are eating the meatloaf on trade.”
(Aside: Christie’s opioid policy is a mix of decent ideas and incredibly dumb ones. Dumb ones are restricting access to prescription pain meds. This sounds smart but one of the things that has caused the surge in heroin use is restrictions on prescription pain killers. People get addicted to prescription meds, are cut off and then turn to heroin. It’s depressing how we keep making the same mistakes over and over again.)
