With an uncomfortablelooking christie standing right behind trump for the entire victory speech and News Conference that followed. Social media ablaze with the freechristie. Heres Eyewitness News reporter stacey sager. Im here. Im back to work. Chris christie pitched this as a News Conference touting new jerseys lower unemployment rate, but thats not the only thing sinking here recently, and the governor knows it. His Approval Rating, once at 67 after superstorm sandy, is now why . Well, constituents were pretty blunt. [ laughs ] hes an idiot. He should resign. Hes not in the state anymore. Hes not our governor. Apparently hes mr. Trumps water boy. They are still shaking their heads over how the governor stole the show with this look on his face standing behind trump on super tuesday. So, no, i wasnt being held hostage. No, i wasnt sitting up there thinking, oh, my god, what have christie says he endorses trump because he believes trump is the best of the remaining republican candidates. But. I am not a fulltime surrogate for donald trump. I dont have a title or a position in the trump campaign. And so he promises he will tend to new jerseys problems, such as the state budget, its transit system, and he wont resign. Six gannett newspapers then calling for the governors resignation, not to mention the starledger, which said. I dont think he has a commitment or a belief in anything, and thats what drew him to donald trump. I am here, i am back to work. We have done the things that weve needed to do over the last 22 days. And so governor christie is counting on the same mood swings, which have propped him up in the past. But for how long . Hes not the type to stay on the sidelines when it comes to politics. On the other, he says come january 16th of 2018, hed like to work in the private sector. In fort lee, im stacey sager, channel 7 Eyewitness News. Joining us from abc news in washington, our bureau there, is former new jersey governor Christine Todd whitman. Governor, thank you for joining us. Nice to see you. My pleasure. All right, you waded right into this controversy. Youre recorded as saying, im ashamed that christie would endorse anyone whos employed the kind of hatemongering and racism that donald trump has. You didnt waste a second doing that. Did you feel you wanted to hesitate, but why did you do that . No. No, i wasnt surprised by the endorsement because i had heard rumors that it might happen. I was just monumentally disappointed, particularly because what he had said, what governor christie had said about donald trump during the primary when he was part of it criticisms and concerns that he raised, with which i agreed. And coming from a state as diverse as new jersey to be able to support someone who will denigrate an entire group of people because of their ethnic background just doesnt sit well. So, lets go youre talking about trump and christie in this interview. Lets talk first about one of your successors, mr. Christie. Why did he do it, then . He was very critical of trump, as you said, in the debates. Why do you think he did it . Well, i think he was looking at the future, saying, this is the man who is going to win and i think republicans should win at any cost, at any price. I would differ with him there. Im certainly a republican. I dont want four more years of what weve had, but on the other hand, i care more about the country than i do about the party, and i think donald trump would be very dangerous, but i think he would youd have to ask him what his reasoning was, but he said it. He said, look, i think this is a good guy who could be president. I couldnt disagree more, but i mean, he could be, but i dont think hed be the kind of representative of the country that we want to have or would do the country really any good, particularly internationally. The governor obviously hes termlimited out, as you heard stacey sager say in the package, in two years, less than two years. He says he wants to make some money, but, you know, he could be offered a spot in a potential trump administration. A Vice President spot doesnt seem quite likely. Have a guy from new york and the guy from new jersey doesnt get you much around the country, right . Right. I wouldnt expect that. But, you know, Chris Christie loves to be out there in the public, and theres a front, and i think probably attorney general is something he would really love to have. Lets talk about new jersey before i get into mr. Trump, cause i know you have a lot to say about him. There have been calls and were gonna talk about it with two state senators, including your old friend richard codey. There have been calls for him to resign. The newspapers are not surprising. They have never supported him. But a lot of people raising questions about how much time he can really spend as governor. As you saw, his Approval Rating is 27 . Its an alltime low. He spent so much time out of the state doing president ial politics. Has it hurt him, do you think, do govern . Theres no question it certainly hurt his prestige within the state. But if hes now back in the state and if he focuses on the state, theres no reason for him to resign. What he did in the past, what its cost the state those are issues of which hell have to deal and explain to the public that its not taking away from his ability to continue to do his job, so if he is there, if hes sincere about not being on the campaign trail for donald trump as much as he was on the campaign trail for himself, then theres no reason, i dont think, just because you dont like the person whom he endorsed to say he should step down. You were busy as governor in your two terms. Is it a job you could just sort of take a year off and campaign for another, much Higher Office and do an effective job as governor . Well, no. I mean, you really do have to be there. Although todays media is different interconnection, the internet and everything gives you a very different ability to stay connected, so you dont have to be there every single day of the year. And now you have a Lieutenant Governor that we didnt have quite competent. Shes very competent, and shes been able to fill in where he hasnt been there. But from what i gather, he still things. Thats the way he manages. And so he has been able to keep in touch. But frankly, thats not the same, particularly when youre facing huge issues and youve really got to sit down and look at people face to face in order to get some of the consensus that you need to build around getting some of these difficult issues settled. You know governor christie. He doesnt seem to be at all fazed by this in terms of really considering stepping down. Oh, no, no. He said very clearly hes not going to step down. It doesnt bother him. Hes a little bit like donald trump in that way. The more criticism you hurl at him, the more stronger he gets in his pushback, so hes not against whats going on. All right, lets return to donald trump. Again, you didnt hesitate at all. Youre certainly joined by a lot of other republicans, mostly moderate. There is chaos right now. I think its a fair description of whats happening in your party. Dont you agree . Oh, ive never seen anything like it. Republican leader, of the Senate Standing up and telling his colleagues and those who want to join him in the senate that if having donald trump at the top of the ticket is problematic for them in their election or reelection, they can run ads against him. Youve never seen anything like that before. And wheres it gonna lead to, and is it too late . Well, i mean, donald trump seems to be teflon, doesnt seem to the more you point out some of his foibles and failings, the more you point out the fact that he really is a bully and a demagogue, the more people like him because theyre so frustrated and so angry at what they perceive to be the inaction, inability to Govern Congress and the presidency. They want someone who will tell done. Were gonna build a wall, and they even will believe him to say that mexicos gonna pay for it. I mean, how he plans to do that is beyond anyones imagination, but because he says it so strongly and people are so desperate to have someone say things like that, theyre willing to go along with it. Can happen now is you pull back the curtain and you start saying, okay, you want a businessman, but do you really want a businessman thats taken four of their companies through bankruptcy in order to keep them going and has cost a lot of people their jobs, whos had a failed airline, has a university for which hes now being sued because that was a failed effort, someone who says they want to bring jobs back to america and yet has had to pay a fine for hiring illegal aliens . The more people will stop to think about those things, im hopeful that they will recognize that theres still time, because if you look at it, the other three candidates left in the race together have more delegates at this point than donald trump does. He announced in june the litany of items you just rattled off were all known before and certainly to people in the tristate area, cause hes certainly no stranger. He was raised here. And he does a lot of business here. But that was all known when he announced in june. Why is taken now until march for all this to come out . Because no one believed that no one believed that he was really in it to win. It was sort of a nolose for him because his Reality Tv Show had gone down in ratings and no matter what happened, even if he didnt make it through the primaries, he could go back to the television, would get better ratings, hed do another book. I mean, there are a lot of things he could have done, but, in fact, he got serious about it as the ego kicked in, as he saw he was touching a nerve with people, with people who are so frustrated and angry and scared. When people are scared, theyll reach out for almost anything, and theyre lashing out right now. Ive seen you at conventions before. Ive seen you at Republican Conventions. You were one of our analysts when the republicans had their convention here to reelect george w. Bush and renominate him in 2004. Ive seen you operate. You know, youre one of those people that like a more controlled convention. This could be an uncontrolled convention this summer. I think itd be great, frankly. [ chuckles ] i mean, no holds barred. Back in the old days, thats what happened. Candidates that came out of that process, and i am hopeful that thats exactly what happens, because then i would love to see a kasichrubio ticket. I think john kasich has the background, the experience. Hes proven himself at all levels. Hes had the executive experience, but hes also been in congress so he knows how to get things done, bring people together. And you have marco rubio, whos the face of the future but frankly has not had the kind of executive experience you need in a president , and i dont think we have just seen in the last president , at least from my perspective, that on the job training is not what we want. I thought you were gonna talk about rubios getting down in the gutter with mr. Trump, because that has not been a pleasant experience for most americans to see, as well. I dont want my grandsons watching these things anymore. Not exactly a lesson in civics. Final question if mr. Trump is indeed your partys nominee, would you vote for him, and if mrs. Clinton is the nominee of the democrats and you dont vote for trump, would you vote for Hillary Clinton . I would not vote for donald trump. I could write in somebody depending on what happens in the but if i thought it was a close one and it was Hillary Clinton against donald trump, i could vote for her. Not happily, not willingly, but i would do it. You think a lot of your fellow republicans would do the same thing . Ive heard a number of them say that and even from some surprising neocons and people whom you would not think would ever support a member of the other party. Former governor of new jersey, a republican, saying that she would vote for Hillary Clinton over donald trump. Thats a big statement, mrs. Whitman. Well, you have to do what you think is right for the country. Okay. Christine todd whitman, thank you so much for joining us. It was nice to see you. Good to see you. All right. Thanks, governor. Just ahead, another former new jersey governor, now state senator, richard codey, along with a fellow republican state senator who supported christies lots to come. Stay with us. In new york state, we believe tomorrow starts today. All across the state, the economy is growing, with creative new business incentives, and the lowest taxes in decades, attracting the talent and companies of tomorrow. Like in buffalo, where the largest solar gigafactory in the western hemisphere will soon energize the world. And in syracuse, where imagination is in production. Let us help grow your companys tomorrow welcome back to upclose. Diving a little deeper into the weaves of this christie controversy, two elected officials who work with governor christie, former new jersey governor and current state senator richard codey, and next to him, republican state senator joe pennacchio, who supported christie in the president ial race. Gentlemen, thanks for joining us. My pleasure, bill. So, how did we get here . How did we get to this place where all this calls for your governors resignation, and wheres it going . Lets start with you, sir. I think a lot of it has to do with politics. Next year is a gubernatorial race. I think a lot of whats driving this year is what may be happening next year, bill. You think he doesnt seem fazed by all this. You dont think that politics is involved. No. No way, right, governor . No, i didnt say [ laughs ] i didnt say i didnt think politics was involved. But he doesnt seem very fazed by this. Well, i dont know about that. Republicans right now. So, and some of them are in districts where they feel theyre gonna be vulnerable now because christies numbers are very low. Trumps not gonna carry new jersey. Theyre thinking about themselves. And not christie anymore or trump or anything, you know. Them in 2017 thats what its about. Thats the politics youre referring to, right . Yeah. Always about me. Right, so its the trump youre talking about your fellow yeah. Fellow politicians. I include myself in there, too. [ laughs ] but you have a broader view, or at least youre here representing a broader view or saying youre representing a broader view. If christie had not endorsed trump, would this had been as big of issue, the fact that he was out of state so often last year running for president . I just think it adds to it in terms of where is he going and what is he doing to help his own party. You know, when he ran, he was kind of famous for not helping republicans get elected. Landslide last time, he carried no republicans into office with him because he didnt want to offend democrats, so thats what its about a lot of, too resentment from his own party. I get, bill, maybe who youre speaking to, the governor eloquently stated his side based on his partisanship. And, for me, ill say what about governor kasich . Is he having the same pushback in ohio as governor christies having over here . Yeah, but, joe, the difference is, hes a very popular governor. Governor christie . No, no. Governor kasich. Kasichs very, very popular. We just interviewed Christine Todd whitman, and she said, you know, its very difficult to be out of the state running for office, and its a little easier than when she was stuff. But, you know, this is a handson chief executive job, and he wasnt doing a lot of that because he was off. I would say this. You cant fight crime, poverty, illiteracy, fix our roads and our bridges on a cellphone. You have to be in the state, in talking to people. Its as simple as that. And thats why the resentment is there. You can come back when theres a storm coming, even though that became a controversy, but you can return. But you cant to do the actual daytoday legwork. You cant. Its just they want you there, and they want you to know that you care about them enough to be there. So, how is this gonna affect your daytoday relationship with the governor moving forward . You still have almost two years left. I think he answered a lot of questions yesterday. Ive gotten to view, you know, what i thought about him being a surrogate. I said, ive never heard of the word surrogate come out of the governors mouth or the word surrogate come out of Donald Trumps mouth. So i think theyre a little maybe a little bit too anxious to criticize the governor. I said they said hes gonna be more hands on, hes gonna be in the state. Dont expect him to be out of state as much as he was before as when he was running for president. Hey, joe, what did you think of the look on his face behind trump . Youre asking my questions. [ laughs ] but thats a darn good question. But ill give you my take. Hes standing there and saying, and i lost to this guy . He says thats not what he but how did you feel . I was looking at donald trump obviously because i was concerned what he was gonna say. [ laughs ] but the issue was, you know, why is our governor standing behind him . And i guess the best you could say he was looking attentive. He was looking at what . Attentive. Attentive. If you look carefully weve gone back and checked the tape if you look, you see that the son of donald trump sort of pushed waved christie away, as if to move out of the camera range, but he did it very subtly. But there was a couple like that, he going away, cause not to put himself right in the camera range there. Its a long time to stand. Trump didnt look comfortable, for instance, when sarah palin was endorsing him. Hes just standing there right. Thats enough, sarah. Its hard to stand there. De blasio used to do that, introduce people and bratton would stand there like this for a half hour waiting. Its very difficult just sit there. I think with the governors success, its been many years since he had to stand behind somebody making a speech. And quite frankly, maybe he just wasnt used to it. Youre used to it with this i am. [ laughs ] and you sit there and you smile and you hop on every single word that he says. So, what is it that you think this . Why did he do this . Debates. He was very critical of donald trump. Yeah, but he was much, much easier on trump than he was with rubio and cruz and others, clearly. The take is that there was some personality problems between or issues between rubio and christie. Well, rubio himself went after christie hard in new hampshire, and according to christie, it worked. Worked against him, obviously. Its always difficult to be a lame duck governor or a chief executive anything when you know youre a lame duck. I can r