New Jersey Governor Chris Christie joined Chris Ryan to talk about the importance of receiving the endorsement of the Manchester Union Leader, how he would contend with the threat from ISIS, and Christie answered a recent attack from Donald Trump. The governor welcomed the endorsement of the Union Leader because of the paper’s conservative reputation. However, Christie realizes that he still has to close he sale with this bloc of voters by actively presenting his record and policies.
In regard to the war on terror, Governor Christie believes that his seven years as a federal prosecutor gave him valuable experience in the application of counter terrorism measures. Also Christie is concerned that the NSA’s metadata program has been ended. He considers this to be a valuable tool for gathering intelligence. He blames the loss of this intelligence asset on a lack of support by President Obama and his rivals Senators Cruz and Paul. Christie believes that the recent terrorist attacks in Paris were the result of an intelligence failure. The governor hopes that this may cause our NATO allies to be more focused on dealing with ISIS than they were previously.
To take the fight to ISIS in Syria, Christie would move away from what he calls Obama’s and Hilary Clinton’s policy of feckless handwringing. His first step would be to form a coalition of NATO and Arab countries. After discussion with the stake holders in the coalition, a plan of action would take form and decisions about how to move against ISIS would be put into effect.
Governor Christie has put a great deal of time into campaigning in New Hampshire. He has done over forty town hall meetings. The current frontrunner, Donald Trump, recently stated on Twitter that Christie is neglecting his responsibilities in New Jersey. The governor said that he appreciated getting input and suggestions from Donald even if it is limited to 140 characters, but Christie will continue to do his job in New Jersey and run his campaign in New Hampshire in the way that he has been doing.
