Christie, in about-face, endorses former GOP rival Trump

[...] he delivered it with gusto on Friday as he shocked many in the political world by endorsing GOP front-runner Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination.

The surprise endorsement, the first for Trump from a sitting governor and by far his most prominent, comes as Trump rival Marco Rubio appeared on the cusp of a breakthrough following a break-out debate performance.

[...] it marks the second time that Christie has knee-capped the Florida senator, just as he appeared to be on the rise.

Reporters covering the event were visibly stunned when the governor, who dropped his own bid for the presidency earlier this month following a disappointing finish in New Hampshire, walked into the room.

The endorsement comes at a particularly opportune time for the real estate mogul, who on Thursday night faced a barrage of new attacks from Rubio during the final debate ahead of next week's Super Tuesday contests, where large numbers of delegates are at stake.

During the last GOP debate before the New Hampshire primary, as Rubio appeared on the cusp of a breakthrough, Christie set a verbal trap that left Rubio repeating the same practiced line over and over again.

Throughout his campaign, Christie bashed the baby-faced senator as inexperienced, drawing parallels with another first-term-senator-turned-president, Barack Obama, and blasted Rubio for his frequent missed votes and Washington insider status.