New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney praised each other Wednesday Morning on NBC's "Today Show" just one day after Christie endorsed Romney, the Republican frontrunner. Both of them refused to deny vice presidential speculation for Christie, a job Christie has ruled out in the past.
"Of course he'd be on anyone's short list," Romney said. He said Christie was "one of the leading figures in the Republican party" and the two were "great friends."
Christie said, "That kind of thing is up to the person who is the presidential nominee to decide who is the best person for them, and, most importantly, the best person for the country." He said he had not been promised the vice presidential spot or anything else in return for his endorsement.
"The person that picked me as vice president would have to be sedated," said Christie last June on "Meet The Press." "Seriously, forget it."
Christie himself had received a great deal of speculation about whether he would run for president, despite repeated denials. He finally called a press conference on Oct. 4 to end the speculation.
New Jersey voters approved of his decision by an 8-1 margin, even though a majority thought he could have won the nomination and the White House, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday. But 74 percent of voters also said that Christie does not have the personality to be vice president. Christie quipped on "Today," "Honestly, I don't know if I'd be anybody's good match in that regard."
Christie said Tuesday night on "The Sean Hannity Show," that the decision was the nominee's: "The fact is whoever the nominee of our party is -- and I believe it's going to be Governor Romney -- will have the opportunity to make the choice of the person he thinks will best serve him as a running mate and best serve the country as a vice president and then ultimately if need be, can serve as president as well."
He added, "I'm not going to worry about stuff that I have no control over."
