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You could feel Chris Christie's pain.

Here he was Monday morning on Fox News Channel's Fox and Friends, eager to bolster his case for why he should be the Republican Party's presidential standard-bearer in 2016.

And all anyone wanted to talk about was Donald Trump.

"You know, enough. We've answered the questions," the New Jersey governor said, referring to queries about The Donald's controversial, not to say odious, comments about Mexican immigrants. And, he added pointedly, "Seriously, when I'm out there talking to folks, nobody in the real world asks me about this — nobody, But every time I get on a media show, all anybody ever wants to talk about is Donald Trump."

Going in, it was widely known that Trump excels when it comes to focusing the spotlight on himself. But it is truly extraordinary the extent to which he is dominating coverage of and conversation about the GOP presidential contest. It's pretty much a hijacking.

There's no mystery about how he does it. He says outrageous things. Then he says them again. Unlike so many other candidates, Trump doesn't disavow comments he should be ashamed of. He doubles down on them.

And as much as it pains what passes for the Republican establishment, some people respond positively to that. There clearly is an audience that Trump is reaching. Thus his rapid ascension in the polls, never mind that he has no serious policy ideas, no political experience and no chance of becoming president.

A month ago I wrote that there's a part of me that wished the news media could simply ignore Trump's act. But it really can't, not when it has such an impact on the dynamics of the race, not when his nonsense has real-world consequences (e.g., NBC and Macy's cutting ties with him over his immigration remarks).

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Rieder: The Peacock kicks The Donald to The Curb

Nevertheless, there are steps that can be taken. The Washington Post's Erik Wemplehad a very good suggestion last week: Stop asking Trump if he stands by those repugnant immigration comments, because he has made clear that he does, over and over again.

Meanwhile, it's all Trump all the time.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., another member of the exceedingly crowded collection of GOP presidential hopefuls, made news over the weekend when, reaching into hisMiley Cyrus thesaurus, he called Trump a "wrecking ball" for the Republican Party.