Chris Christie says he was misquoted more than 20 years ago as saying he had donated to Planned Parenthood. In an interview with CBS’s John Dickerson that aired Sunday, Christie denied a claim made by presidential rival Marco Rubio that the New Jersey Republican had once donated to Planned Parenthood. But a 2012 biography of Christie highlighted a quotation from the future governor when he was running for Morris County freeholder in 1994.
“I support Planned Parenthood privately with my personal contribution and that should be the goal of any agency, to find private donations,” Christie said, according to a 1994 report in the Newark Star-Ledger. On Sunday, the Christie campaign was unable to clarify the contradiction to THE WEEKLY STANDARD, only saying the quotation was “out of context.”
But on Tuesday, the Republican presidential candidate told the Washington Post the quote in question was a “misquote.”
“Listen, this is a quote from 21 years ago. I’m convinced it was a misquote,” Christie told the Post‘s Jennifer Rubin. “Understand what was going on. In 1994-95, I was fighting against county funding of Planned Parenthood even though I was pro-choice.”
In an odd wrinkle to the story, the Star-Ledger reporter who supposedly misquoted Christie, Brian Murray, now works for Christie in his capacity as a spokesman for the office of the governor in New Jersey. Murray did not immediately return a request for comment.
Speaking with the Post, Christie once again said he never donated to Planned Parenthood, which is the country’s largest provider of abortions. Here’s more from Rubin:
Rubio brought up the alleged donation last week after a super PAC supporting him mentioned it in a recent ad attacking Christie. TWS asked the Rubio campaign if the Florida senator believed Christie’s claim that he was misquoted.
“No amount of excuses can cover up Chris Christie’s liberal record of supporting abortion rights, common core, gun control, and liberal judges,” said Rubio spokesman Joe Pounder. “Chris Christie may not like what he was saying just a few years ago but that doesn’t make it untrue.”
