Christie endorses Trump

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie appeared with Donald Trump at a press conference this morning in Fort Worth, Texas, to announce his support for the billionaire businessman’s bid for the Republican nomination for president.

Christie, who dropped out of the presidential race following a poor showing in the New Hampshire primary, said Trump “will do what needs to be done to protect the American people.”

Both Trump and Christie denied they had discussed a role for Christie in a potential Trump administration, including the vice presidential slot on the ticket.

The announcement comes the morning after Sen. Marco Rubio scored major points in last night’s GOP debate by taking on Trump, including his lack of specifics behind his plan to repeal and replace Obamacare. Christie used much of his time at today’s press conference to knock Rubio’s qualifications to be president.

“We don’t need any more of these Washington, D.C., acts,” Christie said.

Before exiting the race, Christie dealt the Rubio campaign a major blow with a blistering attack on the senator from Florida during the GOP debate just prior to the New Hampshire primary.

Meanwhile, Rubio continued to take on Trump today, calling him a “con artist” on morning television interviews. Later, at a rally in Dallas, Rubio made light of a tweet from Trump that attacked him but contained several misspellings, including calling Rubio a “chocker” instead of a “choker.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.