As RedState reported Tuesday, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was preparing to make his presidential run official with the knowledge in mind that a new Morning Consult poll showed him polling behind deeply unpopular former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wy.) on a list of current and possible GOP contenders.

Just hours after the poll was released, Christie cranked up his New Hampshire town hall with a message about how he was supposedly the only guy willing to go toe to toe with Donald Trump – despite the fact that he’s been called out for his convenient change of heart when it comes to the former President, who Christie endorsed in 2016 and who also lobbied unsuccessfully for various positions within his administration.

Christie even helped Trump with debate prep against Joe Biden in 2020.

Here’s a short video clip from Christie’s event:

“Beware of the leader in this country, who you have handed leadership to, who has never made a mistake, who has never done anything wrong, who — when something goes wrong — it's always someone else's fault, and who has never lost,” Chris Christie says as he announces his run. pic.twitter.com/jev5KjXAsg

— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) June 6, 2023

For months prior to making it official, Christie had been teasing a run, which culminated in a list of “endorsements” of sorts from the kind of people with who no self-respecting Republican would care to be associated.

Like Washington Post columnist/NeverTrumper/pseudo-conservative Jennifer Rubin, who early on in Biden’s term won the enthusiastic approval of then-Biden Chief of Staff Ron Klain:

"The party really doesn't like Chris Christie, but he has the verbal skills, the presence, the aggressiveness, to throw a lot of punches both at Trump and at Ron DeSantis." @JRubinBlogger on the former N.J. governor joining the crowded field of GOP presidential candidates. pic.twitter.com/vGTn9dwXAM

— American Voices with Alicia Menendez (@AliciaOnMSNBC) June 3, 2023

… and far-left “View” co-host Joy Behar, who has been known to take blackface and whitesplaining to an art form:

Chris Christie is “the only bully who calls the bully Trump a coward and a puppet of Putin.

So he has a shot. Bully against bully crime — my favorite.” 🍿🍿
-Joy Behar pic.twitter.com/gI8fgcWnls

— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) June 3, 2023

Another Washington Post columnist, their former “reporter” Philip Bump, declared Christie to be the “only Republican actually running against Trump”:

There is only one Republican actually running against Donald Trump. https://t.co/wmyzgaypkC

— Philip Bump (@pbump) June 7, 2023

As they say, fair or not, you are known by the company you keep, and if Christie truly wants a shot at the nomination, he has to win some red states, and these are not the types of plaudits he should be eager to receive.

Meanwhile, Trump’s reaction to Christie’s news was classic Trump:

😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/7H3m2GpWBn

— Liz Harrington (@realLizUSA) June 7, 2023

Trump also took jabs at Christie’s use of the word “small” throughout his speech:

“How many times did Chris Christie use the word SMALL? Does he have a psychological problem with SIZE? Actually, his speech was SMALL, and not very good. It rambled all over the place, and nobody had a clue of what he was talking about. Hard to watch, boring, but that’s what you get from a failed Governor (New Jersey) who left office with a 7% approval rating and then got run out of New Hampshire. This time, it won’t be any different!”

Like Trump or not, it’s hard to argue against any of that. To say Christie has an uphill battle is an understatement, but hey at least this gets his name out there and in the news, so that’s something… I guess.

Flashback: Chris Christie Tells on Himself in War of Words With Donald Trump