Jon Stewart: Chris Christie's 'comfort with corruption' will cost him in 'invisible' GOP primary

Jon Stewart opened The Daily Show on Thursday by observing that New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's (R) penchant for high-priced trips could cost him in the "invisible primaries" leading up to the actual presidential campaigns.

"You gotta admire his honesty," Stewart said, before launching into a Jersey accent. "'Hey, here's the deal: I'm gonna get every f*cking thing I can get legally out of this office, including sh*t that I myself made legal."

Stewart pointed out that Christie, who is often mentioned as a potential GOP candidate for 2016, has enjoyed trips to Israel paid for by both billionaire Sheldon Adelson and King Abdullah of Jordan.

As Nj.com reported, the governor's 2012 trip cost around $30,000. Stewart jokingly defended the expenditure, saying it "sounds pricey until you realize the minibar is stocked with Ford Fiestas."

The trip is legal, Stewart observed, because Christie signed an executive order in 2010 giving the governor at the time -- meaning him -- permission to have trips paid for by foreign governments.

"This man is so lucky, he should play the lottery -- after signing an executive order saying the governor of New Jersey automatically wins the lottery," Stewart said chidingly.

Shortly before Stewart's show aired, the International Business Times reported that Christie's administration could face another federal probe over the firing of a local prosecutor in 2010, lending an added dimension to Stewart's warning that "Christie's comfort with corruption is probably gonna come back and bite him," and thus open the door for former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) to snag the nomination.

But while Republicans were entering a wide-open field, Stewart said, Democrats were seemingly ready to hand their nomination over to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, describing her toughest competition thus far as "Senator Nobody" and "Governor Bupkis." He then showed footage of actor Mark Ruffalo standing seemingly inside his home encouraging Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) to enter the race.

"Here's how scared Democrats are of Hillary Clinton's candidacy," Stewart said. "Even people who would like to field a challenger for the nomination will only speak from a secret location."

Watch Stewart's commentary, as posted online on Thursday, below.