New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie had a wide-ranging, sit-down interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, where he hit teacher’s unions and the Iran deal, said he would defund Planned Parenthood and stand for gun rights, and that he is “confident” he will be on the debate stage Thursday.
Only the top ten candidates in the polls will qualify to be on the Fox News prime-time debate this Thursday, and CNN’s Jake Tapper said Christie is currently “on the bubble” of qualifying.
“I’ll make it. I feel pretty good,” said Christie. “You know, I’ll be very happy when the ten names come out and I’m in there, because I think it’s important. … See, once you get on that stage, it’s not going to matter whether you’re number one, number five or number 10. You’re going to have the opportunity to make your pitch to the Republican primary voters across America, and I’m confident I’ll be there on Thursday night.”
On immigration, Christie said that the 11 million illegal immigrants already in the country “are not going to self-deport” and “we don’t have enough law enforcement” to deport that many people.
Simple solutions, like those offered by Trump, sound really good in theory, and allow you to “pound your chest,” but they’re not workable in reality, said Christie. He did not offer a specific plan on he’d do with the 11 million already here, but said that first the border must be secured. He said he would soon roll out his policy prescription.
Christie was asked if he agreed with fellow candidate Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., that voters’ fascination with Trump represented a temporary loss of “sanity” and that people would eventually look for someone “serious.”
“I think Donald is going to be as serious a candidate as Donald wants to be,” said Christie, adding that voters can tell whether he is serious through “the depth” and “seriousness of his answers.”
“Anybody can do well for a month in this business, especially if you have talent and you have personality, and Donald has both those things. … I think Dr. Paul’s diagnosis is premature,” he said.
When Tapper challenged Christie that he’d once supported a ban on assault weapons, Christie pushed back hard, saying it was a position he took “when I was 31 years old.”
“Listen, I think [the issue is] a lot more complicated than I thought it was when I was 31 years old,” said Christie. “I’ve learned a lot in the last 21 years … by the way I’ve changed a lot of my opinions over time.
“Here’s the thing: If you’re a thinking, breathing human being, and life experience is something you take in, and you never change your mind, then you’re stubborn,” continued Christie. “I’ve learned from all my public service, and the positions I have today are positions that come from … nearly 20 years in public life. I think everybody should take that moment to … figure out where they stand after all their [life] experiences. The only thing somebody can point to is something 20 years ago, then that means I’ve been fairly consistent for the last 19.”
Asked whether he believes there is a problem with police and their interactions with black people in this country, Christie replied that he thinks there is a general problem with interactions between “our citizens and our police force” and that they need to interact “with each other in a positive and constructive way.”
Christie said his solution to this problem has been “education” for the police and the community on how to interact with each other. “You can see what we’ve done in Camden,” N.J., as an example on how to fix the problem, he said.
Christie admitted that “there is still racism in our society” and “we still have work to do” on the issue, although the country is better off than it was 40 or 50 years ago.
Christie defunded Planned Parenthood as governor of New Jersey, and Tapper asked Christie whether he would be willing to force a government shutdown to defund the group nationally, something that Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has threatened.
“We should just defund Planned Parenthood,” answered Christie. “We shouldn’t be throwing around threats like that, it doesn’t help. We didn’t do too well when we shut down the government the last time. But we should be very firm as a party, that this type of conduct by an organization, the harvesting and selling of fetal body parts, is just deplorable.”
Planned Parenthood claims none of the Federal funding goes towards abortions, said Tapper.
“All money is fungible, Jake, and they can’t say that the money goes towards abortions,” replied Christie. “Of course it does! Money comes into Planned Parenthood, and it is fungible. They can spend it on what they wish.”
While it seemed to be “almost impossible” to make the Middle East “more of a mess” than it already was, Christie charged that Obama had done exactly that. Christie said his “preferred alternative” for dealing with the Islamic State was “to arm” all allies in the Middle East, including the Saudis and the Jordanians.
He said U.S. allies in the Middle East need “more help” and “better arms” and “to know Americans are going to stand with them whether the polls are up or down.”
Christie scoffed at the 24-day notice inspectors will have to provide according to the terms of the Iran nuclear deal, comparing it to giving a 24-day warning after obtaining a search warrant. The deal does not provide “anytime, anywhere” inspection access, he said.
“You cannot tell me that in 24 days the Iranians can’t move evidence of cheating from one area to another,” said Christie.
Christie famously said on bullies that “‘you can either sidle up to them or you can punch them in the face. I like to punch ’em in the face,'” said Tapper. “At the national level, who deserves a punch in the face?”
“The national teacher’s union, who’s already endorsed Hillary Clinton, 16, 17 months before the election,” said Christie quickly. “They’re not for education for our children. They’re for greater membership, greater benefits, greater pay for their members. They are the single most destructive force in public education in America. I’ve been saying that since 2009. I got the scars to show it, but I’m never going to stop saying it ’cause they’re never going to change their stripes.”
