Chris Christie Muses White House Bid: ‘Do I Want to Do It?’

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New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie appeared undecided about a presidential run when he sat down with “Face the Nation” host John Dickerson this weekend.

“I go through all the different factors that I need to consider. And when I’m done, I check that off and I move to the next factor. And the factor I’m down to now, John, is do I want to do it? Do I want to do it? In my heart, is this something that I really, absolutely want to do?” said Christie.

The comment leaves Christie a door to exit a Republican primary in which he’s gone from perceived front-runner a year ago, to someone struggling to break through an ever-growing field. Still, that he said it while in New Hampshire indicates he’s still very much interested in throwing his hat into the ring.

Christie spoke with Dickerson from New Hampshire, where he had participated in a roundtable discussion with residents to talk about drug rehabilitation. Despite the growing movement to legalize one drug, marijuana, Christie pledged that he would reverse course on the federal government’s permissiveness towards states that have done so like Colorado and Washington.

Christie didn’t shy away from criticizing Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton.

Though he’s not officially a candidate, Christie isn’t holding back on criticizing his fellow politicians. He went after Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who last week accused him and other Republican governors of trying to depress turnout at the polls among young and minority voters.

“In New Jersey, we have early voting that are available to people. I don’t want to expand it and increase the opportunities for fraud. And maybe that’s what Mrs. Clinton wants to do,” he said.

He also had some criticism for Republicans, including potential competitor Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.

President Obama signed a bill into law last week that strips the NSA of its authorization to collect phone metadata records in bulk. Instead, the data will be held by telecommunications companies and the government must request the specific records it needs.

“The actions that were taken this week by Congress has made our country weaker and more vulnerable,” Christie said. He cited his experience as a U.S. attorney in New Jersey as the source of his expertise on the issue.

“I’m the guy who understands this stuff and has done it. And he’s the guy who sits up on Capitol Hill in subcommittee meetings and theorizes about it,” Christie said. He later slammed Paul and Lee for “making up fictions” to scare people.

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