More in the cross-post on the MRC's NewsBusters blog.
In an interview with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Friday’s NBC Today, co-host Savannah Guthrie pressed the Republican presidential candidate on whether Donald Trump was hurting the GOP: “Is Trump doing long-term damage to the Republican brand if he's insulting Muslims, Latinos, women, veterans, prisoners of war? I mean, do you worry about the effect this is having for the long-term prospects of the Republican Party?”
Christie dismissed the notion: “I don't, Savannah, because in the end what's going to matter is who’s the nominee of the party. The party standard bearer is the person who winds up holding in his or her hands the burden and the opportunity of defining the Republican Party, and so we're a long way from that.”