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Trump Reportedly Thought He'd Be Out of the Race by October 2015

Trump allegedly told Chris Christie that he'd endorse the governor once he had to inevitably drop out, a source told CNN. That obviously didn't happen.
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President-elect Donald Trump allegedly didn't expect his candidacy to make it past the GOP primary debates, according to Unprecedented, CNN's upcoming book on the 2016 election.

During the primaries, Trump and Chris Christie—who was also vying for the Republican nomination at the time—reportedly had a Survivor-esque agreement to team up against Rubio and the other potential nominees. When one of the two would inevitably drop out, the loser would throw an endorsement behind the candidate still running.

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"I think they always had an understanding that the first one out would probably endorse the other," a source inside the Christie camp told CNN.

The source said that Trump told Christie he expected to be out of the running by October 2015 and planned on endorsing the New Jersey governor. Things didn't work out that way, obviously—Christie ended his presidential bid in February 2016 and endorsed Trump that same month. He's been involved with the Trump campaign ever since.

Christie was initially leading Trump's White House transition team, but Trump abruptly replaced him with vice president-elect Mike Pence at the end of last week, days after two of Christie's former aides were found guilty for their involvement in the Bridgegate scandal.

Watch: What Happened with the 2016 Election?