Bigger villain this election?

[Coolface Sock #42069]

Either Chris Christie or Mike Pence, but Christie really seems to stand tallest.

It was Christie who became the first establishment figure to legitimize Trump by giving him his first endorsement by a major officeholder. This was a major boon to Trump and very possibly pushed Trump over the top in several Super Tuesday states which otherwise could have gone to a more sane Republican who actually believes in the party's platform (Vermont, Virginia, etc.).

His whole campaign was also a con built on the fiction of his "balanced" budget in New Jersey and the parallel fiction of Christie "telling it like it is" and "getting stuff done", but his "balanced" budget was "balanced" only in technicality; he did it by delaying making payments to public pension funds, and as a resident of Illinois, I know exactly how the aftermath of that works out. Christie will leave office, whether he goes to prison or not, and his successor, whether Republican or Democrat, will take office, and soon, fit will hit the shan when these public employees retire and wonder where the pension money is, New Jersey bonds will be downgraded even more than they already have (probably near junk status), and the successor will be blamed for everything.

And his record since dropping out should tell everyone that Christie has no interest in "telling it like it is". His endorsement of Trump represented Christie once again putting his ambitions ahead of the people (just as he did in New Jersey), and the speeches he's given have so little connection with reality that it's almost laughable. He wanted that VP spot, and he bet the house on red and lost. But just because he lost and Mike Pence got that spot doesn't make Christie better than Pence.

He also fits in perfectly with Trump because he is a bully (and very possibly a criminal because of it) and a terrible role model for children everywhere. His speech at the RNC was the worst thing I've heard come out of anyone's mouth this entire cycle, and I don't say that lightly; trust me.

So yeah, he might be exonerated for Bridgegate and get to ride off into the sunset with a seven-figure lobbying gig soon (while New Jersey crumbles due to his mismanagement), but Chris Christie is, out of the listed choices, far and away the biggest villian of the year.