Trump-Christie 2016. Photo: Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Donald Trump is vetting New Jersey governor (and possible Trump hostage) Chris Christie as a potential running mate, according to separate reports for CNN and the New York Times.

Trump gets the umbrella; Christie gets the rain. https://t.co/jCUkDTLVzN pic.twitter.com/MFieMfv62K — Jim Roberts (@nycjim) March 15, 2016

Christie was one of the first (and only) Establishment Republicans to wholeheartedly embrace the mogul’s candidacy. In recent weeks, the governor has assured the public that the demagogue who derides Mexicans as rapists and Muslims as murderers doesn’t have a racist bone in his body, cajoled reluctant GOP donors into holding their noses and opening their wallets, fetched the presumptive nominee his McDonald’s, and drafted plans for Trump’s eventual transition team.

And he has maintained the approval of a full 26 percent of his constituents in the process.

One of the names on Trump's VP shortlist (Chris Christie) has an approval rating of 26% at home, per new poll: https://t.co/sXnmG5pPlQ — Taniel (@Taniel) June 30, 2016

Normally, an established politician with a national platform wouldn’t tie his brand to a figure 70 percent of the country despises.

Generally speaking, presidential nominees don’t select running mates who could actually hurt the ticket’s standing in their home states.

But Donald Trump and Chris Christie are two men with no good options. The latter’s name will be profanely invoked by Jersey commuters for decades to come — Christie’s decision to kill the ARC tunnel project will create some semipermanent traffic problems in Fort Lee. And the tea-party voters he vetoed the project to please will never forgive him for hugging the betrayer-in-chief. Trump, meanwhile, is having trouble convincing Republican politicians to speak at his convention, let alone join his ticket. He’s the most disliked major-party nominee in history, and he’s trailed Clinton in every national poll released in the past three weeks.

These two deserve each other. Or, at least, they deserve nothing better.