I posted yesterday on the uncertainty surrounding Chris Christie’s loyalty to Donald Trump despite having endorsed him. Christie has been hemorrhaging political support in New Jersey since his endorsement and Christie is now has the opportunity to be a power player at the GOP convention rather than simply the fat kid in Trump’s posse.

Via TalkingPointsMemo

In an interview on “The Glenn Beck Program,” Cruz painted Trump as a bully born into wealth and privilege who disrespected women—and New Jersey’s governor.

“Look at the humiliation he inflicts on people like Chris Christie,” Cruz said. “Chris Christie is a good man. I like Chris Christie. Chris Christie right now is trapped in his own private hell. When Chris was standing behind Donald Trump holding his jacket, the look in his eyes—you could see the screaming.”

Christie endorsed Trump at the end of February after a sixth-place finish in the New Hampshire primary. Christie’s stoic facial expression during a press conference alongside Trump forced some social media users to question whether Christie truly wanted to be there.

…

“You know what gets me is the servility of Chris forced to call Donald ‘Mr. Trump,'” Cruz continued…

There are two themes pushed by Cruz in this interview. The first is that everyone understands the difficult position that Chris Christie finds himself in and that no one really expects him to stand by his initial endorsement given the way he has been shown contempt and disrespect by Trump. The second message is that if Christie persists in staying with Trump then he’s really no much of a man. In short, Christie is being given an out from his pledge but he’s also being put on notice that continuing to support Trump will diminish rather than increase his influence.