Reprinted with permission from AlterNet

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) may have an anti-Trump stance in the public eye now but Bulwark writer Tim Miller is explaining why his pushback is a decade too late.

Miller pointed to a tweet highlighting a quote from Christie that read, "I've never walked away from an argument, no matter who stood on the other side," Christie told me during a wide-ranging interview in New Jersey.

He went on to note the main problem with Christie's remarks: The former governor talks a good game but fails miserably at backing it up.

"Like every other pathetic, podgy, scared, insecure bully who has ever disgraced a schoolyard, Chris Christie talks a big game," Miller wrote. "But when he was called upon to meet the biggest threat of his life—a doughy, soft-handed trust-fund baby with authoritarian aspirations—Christie didn't just walk away from an argument. He waddled as fast as he could go in his urine-soaked pull-ups."

Referencing an incident that occurred back in February of 2016, Miller explained how Christie blunder on the campaign trail. At the time, the former governor had launched his presidential bid, running alongside the likes of former President Donald Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL). He needed a campaign boost in New Hampshire but instead of taking aim at the candidate he should have challenged, Christie went after Rubio.

"Christie surveyed the stage and decided to try and butch himself up by taking on the runt of the pack: He ignored Trump and whaled on Lil' Marco, to the delight of many," Miller wrote. "To the delight, in fact, of Trump."

In his book, Christie also recounted what transpired between him and Trump after the debate as he alluded to why he targeted Rubio instead.

"I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Donald Trump," Christie wrote in his book. "Donald put his arm around me and said, 'God, you destroyed him. . . . You're the only one who could have done that. Just remember: I haven't said anything bad about you. Don't go after me.'"

Miller went on to explain how Christie's wrong move not only impacted Rubio but also tanked his own campaign in New Hampshire.

"Christie succeeded in blunting Marco's momentum, but did nothing to boost himself. Three days later Trump went on to win New Hampshire in a rout, Marco fell to fifth, and Christie bottomed out in sixth," he wrote. "After which he walked away from the race without ever having even thrown an unkind glance in Trump's general direction."

However, Christie's behavior didn't stop there. It only grew worse in the months that followed as the 2016 presidential election approached.

"Right at the moment when the Republican party needed to unite against Trump, Christie gassed the fellow up," Miller noted.

Highlighting a number of Christie's other embarrassing blunders, Miller explained why he has made it to the point of no return.

He wrote:

• Christie stood next to Trump pliantly as he ranted and raved.
• It was leaked, maybe apocryphally, that he was assigned the job of fetching Trump's hamburgers.
• He stood by as Trump told him to stop eating Oreos.
• After an event in Arkansas, he obediently walked up to Trump looking for a pat on the head but instead he was shooed off and instructed to "go home."
• He weirdly referred to him throughout the campaign as "Mr. Trump," despite the fact that he was a sitting governor and Trump was a former game-show host.