Chris Christie blames Trump for boosting Josh Shapiro by endorsing his 'weakest' opponent

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Sunday claimed former President Trump is to blame for Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's (D) popularity after he endorsed Shapiro's GOP Republican opponent in 2022.

Christie, who launched an unsuccessful bid for the GOP presidential nomination last year, said he thinks Shapiro should be Vice President Harris's pick for her running mate as speculation swirls ahead of the vice president's expected running mate announcement this week.

"I don't think this is a hard choice. He's a very talented politician. He's extraordinarily popular, 65 percent job approval in a state she needs to win. This is really important. And I'll tell you this ... If she picks Shapiro on Tuesday, Donald Trump created Josh Shapiro," Christie said Sunday on ABC News's "This Week."

"He endorsed Mastriano, the weakest Republican candidate in that field," Christie added, referring to state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R), who lost to Shapiro in Pennsylvania's 2022 gubernatorial race.

The endorsement enabled Shapiro, Christie argued, to "play to his base" in a narrow election.

"He saw an opportunity for a coalition-building election, and that's what he did," Christie said.

"So now he's seen as a coalition builder because he did it, but the only reason he could do it is because Trump made another ridiculously stupid endorsement by endorsing Mastriano, who was a flawed, weak, bad candidate. If Josh Shapiro winds up winning ... and Trump loses Pennsylvania, he can go back to his decision in 2022 as planting the seeds for that loss."

The Hill reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.

Christie brushed off the idea vice presidential picks are not important, stating the choice "matters a lot."

"One, it's going to show whether she's really trying to reach out to her entire party, and by extension, the entire country," he said.

"I think she needs to pick someone who's viewed as more moderate than her. I think she needs to pick someone who's got more governing experience at the ground level. That's why I think she will pick a governor."

The former New Jersey governor said it is also important because it will show voters her decisionmaking process.

"Look, when you're vice president, let's face it, you don't make a lot of decisions. The president makes those decisions, and you try to help him or her implement that, right? So I think that will show that, too," he added.

Harris, who officially became the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee last week, has rushed to pick a running mate on a condensed timeline following President Biden's withdrawal from the 2024 race last month. She is expected to announce her running mate by Tuesday morning before embarking on a four-day, seven-state campaign swing alongside her pick.

Front-runners to join her on the ticket include Shapiro, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.

Shapiro, 51, was attorney general of Pennsylvania from 2017-23. While this did not overlap with Harris's time as attorney general of California, her allies said the two got to know each other because she stayed in touch with the Democratic Attorneys General Association.