New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie defended presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump amid the backlash against his comments about the federal judge presiding over the Trump University case.
Speaking to reporters after voting in New Jersey, Christie declared the Trump is not a racist and that such allegations go against 14 years of experience the governor has knowing him. Christie also said that he didn’t know the history of the Trump University case in depth.
“I don’t know this judge. I don’t know him personally. I don’t know the history of the Trump University case. So I’m not going to get into speaking about all that. I’ve said this before, that I know Donald Trump. I’ve known him for 14 years, and Donald Trump is not a racist, and so, you know, the allegations that he is are absolutely contrary to every experience that I’ve had with him over the last 14 years, so we’re going to end it there.”
When asked if he thought Trump had ever gone too far with his rhetoric, Christie said that he probably has, although he declined to name any specific instances. He argued that it is inevitable that this will happen with a politician who speaks his mind.
“I am sure if I sat back and thought about it that there would be times that I would think that there were things that he had that he shouldn’t have said,” Christie told the gaggle of reporters. “Quite frankly, he’s admitted there are things that he’s said that he shouldn’t have said, but that happens to anybody in politics who speaks their mind.”
“If you have this many microphones and cameras in front of you on a regular basis and you’re not a preprogrammed robotic politician, you’re going to make some statements at times that you wish you could take back,” Christie continued. “I’ve done it, he’s done it and anybody who’s honest in this business has done it, so that doesn’t make him any different than anybody else who’s run for office before.
“Frankly, from my perspective, it’s refreshing to have somebody who is willing to speak their mind and you know is not reading from a script,” he added. “There’s lots of things you can say about Donald. He’s not reading from a script, I can guarantee that.”
The Trump supporter and former presidential candidate also predicted that no voter would make their decision based on the ongoing “kerfuffle.”
