Manchester, N.H.
Chris Christie knocked Jeb Bush, his rival for the Republican nomination, for sitting on the sidelines during recent political debates. In an interview, Christie said he hasn’t noticed Bush in the fray since the former Florida governor left office nearly a decade ago.
“I haven’t seen him around much since he left office in 2007, in terms of working on Republican issues around the country. I’ve been around campaigning for everybody, and I haven’t seen Jeb much out there doing that stuff,” Christie said in a Monday interview with THE WEEKLY STANDARD.
The New Jersey governor also said it would be “helpful to nominate someone who’s been in the fight on the 21st century issues, not the 20th century issues.” By that, did Christie mean Bush?
“I just think his experience is much more relevant to an earlier period of time,” Christie responded. “And like I said to you, I haven’t seen him out a lot until most recently. I haven’t seen him out a lot helping and fighting for Republican candidates or Republican causes.”
Christie was first elected to the governor’s office in 2009 and was reelected in 2013. Bush was to two terms as well, in 1998 and 2002.
Bush currently ranks second in the GOP presidential primary national poll average, with 12.7 percent, while Christie is ranked tenth, with 3.2 percent.
