New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie began the tricky task Sunday of explaining his endorsement of a candidate whose proposals he roundly rejected just weeks ago.
During an interview on ABC News’ “This Week” Christie defended Donald Trump, despite their differences, as the best presidential candidate available.
During his own campaign, Christie said Trump’s plan to build a wall along the southern border and have Mexico pay for it “makes no sense.” Christie danced around the issue Sunday.
“I’m not going to support everything that happens in any campaign,” Christie said. He added that diplomatic and trade ties between the two neighboring countries will help Trump negotiate a deal.
On Social Security, which as a candidate Christie made a central tenet of his campaign, he said Sunday he still disagrees with Trump.
“Donald Trump and I are not going to agree on every issue,” Christie told host George Stephanopoulos.
“The fact of the matter is, though, when you look up on that stage, no one else has a plan on Social Security,” Christie said. “None of them have the answer.”
Before Christie ended his run for the White House on Feb. 10, he campaigned on cutting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid to keep them afloat. Trump says he will leave Social Security alone.
“What I’m saying is that he’s going to give more complete answers as time goes on on these issues,” Christie said, when pressed on Trump’s lack of specific policy proposals.
Another point of conflict between the two is Trump’s proposal to ban Muslims from entering the U.S.
Christie said he still disagrees with the plan. But he argued Trump has “backed off that position over the course of time” by clarifying that he meant only Muslims who are not U.S. citizens.
“I’m saying that that’s only one piece of an overall approach to national security. You’re the only person you agree with 100 percent of the time, whether it’s you or me,” Christie said. “I ran against the guy, so of course there’s things that I disagree with him on. But this is now a choice. And of the candidates remaining on that stage, he is the best person to beat Hillary Clinton, which is job one for Republicans.”
