New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is focusing intently on terrorism in his presidential campaign, telling voters that he has both the experience and the temperament required to lead the country.
Yesterday, he delivered a dramatic speech about the looming threat of radical Islamic terrorism at the Republican Jewish Coalition forum and he is speaking repeatedly about the subject in interviews with the press.
Christie criticized Obama’s foreign policy record, including his widely understood White House policy of “don’t do stupid shit” an in interview with the Atlantic’s Jeffry Goldberg.
“[H]e’s done some pretty stupid shit under the philosophy of not doing stupid shit,” Christie said bluntly.
Christie has also taken shots at Sen. Marco Rubio, pointing out the freshman senator’s lack of experience and his urgent pursuit of the presidency.
Christie was asked by Goldberg what he thought about Rubio. “There’s not a lot of depth there,” Christie responded shortly.
In an interview with Yahoo News writer Matt Bai, Christie also raised questions about Rubio’s ability to lead.
“He has no experience governing,” Christie mused. “He’s had five years in the United States Senate, and for a good amount of that time he’s been running for president. So I don’t know.”
Earlier this week, Christie pointed out in an interview with Laura Ingraham that Rubio didn’t have the experience necessary to run for president.
“The fact is he’s a first term senator who’s never had to make any significant decisions in his career,” he said. “And, that’s not the kind of on the job training that we need for the White House.”
Christie’s political hits on Rubio are new, as it becomes clear that both candidates are competing for second place in New Hampshire against Donald Trump.
The pair appeared friendly at the beginning of the race as the Rubio family spent time with Christie’s family at Mitt Romney’s house last summer. The group went boating together and even went out for ice cream.
But Christie appears willing to challenge Rubio on his weaknesses, including the issue of illegal immigration.
It’s hard to keep up with how many times Marco changes his positions on these things, to tell you the truth,” he said, in another interview with Ingraham earlier this month.
The Rubio campaign appears unwilling to engage with Christie, even though they appear willing to spar with Texas Senator Ted Cruz on issues of immigration reform and surveillance.
A request from Rubio’s campaign for comment on Christie’s recent remarks was not immediately returned.
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