New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie accused President Obama of having “literally invited” Russian leader Vladimir Putin into Syria to take over the region and fight the Islamic State.
After Christie first made the accusation on CNN and said “this president has done nothing to solve the problem,” host Jake Tapper incredulously asked Christie if he meant Obama had “literally invited” Putin into Syria. Christie said he did.
“He literally invited Putin in back when he drew the red line,” Christie said, invoking a decision the president made to backtrack and not strike Syria in 2013. “He invited Putin in to broker an agreement for Assad to give up his chemical weapons … Everything that has happened with Russia and Syria since then is the creation of this president and his former secretary of state [Hillary Clinton].”
Christie also took aim at Donald Trump’s approach to foreign policy. Trump advocated for letting Russia defeat the Islamic State in Syria so American intervention would not be necessary during a recent interview.
“I wouldn’t leave fighting ISIS to Russia as some in this race have suggested,” Christie, ninth on the Washington Examiner‘s power rankings, told CNN. Instead, Christie proposed fighting with U.S. allies in the region, training them down to the “battalion level,” giving the allies access to the best intelligence available and providing air cover if necessary.
Regarding the chaos within the Republican Party about who should become the next speaker, Christie reiterated that he could not care less about who becomes the top-ranking GOP member of the House.
