"Face the Nation," July 23, 2023
Interview
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(INAUDIBLE) with you.
Let me say, unequivocally, I will not be going to chrischristie.com.
Listen, we took these actions because it's the right thing to do to protect these precious young people. This is a complete culture war. And, by the way, Chris Christie was really bad for the LGBTQIA+ community and the underfunded public education by $9 billion with a "b" dollars. So, with all due respect to the governor, I'm not sure he's got much of a leg to stand on.
But parents are always involved. Certainly in our administration. They're always at the table. And they always will be.
But let's be smart about this. Let's protect the rights of these precious kids. Let's do things the right way, the American way. And - and I think if we do this in a spirit of respecting everyone's rights -
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Protecting the LGBTQIA+ community, we'll land in a good place.
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Obviously (ph), parents are the existential reality in the upbringing of any child, without question. I don't deny that for one second. But let's not violate the constitutional and civil rights of precious young folks, in many cases, who are coming to grips with life and - as they -- as they grow up and grow older. Let's be respectful of that. Let's be all in this together as opposed to this us versus them, this demonizing. And when that happens, invariably it's the LGBT community that gets -- particularly trans folks who get behind the eight ball.
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First of all, I support Joe Biden unequivocally. We do so much together. On this one, we don't see - see it the same way. And at the end of the day the buck stops with me for standing up for the residents of our state.
Secondly, this will worsen pollution in New Jersey. Congestion pricing, the MTA in New York City has admitted it, this is a financial fix more than it is an environmental fix. And the loser here, right now, are New Jersey commuters and New Jersey communities. And I will not let that stand.
We have, in fact, filed soon against the Federal Highway Administration. God-willing we can land in a good place. And it's not like we don't have good Bonafede's, Margaret. We have the number one, since we got here, six years running, the number one environmental track record of any state in America. We care deeply about it. This is bad for the environment in New Jersey, not good for it.
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Yes, not so fast, with all due respect. They took a short cut at the Federal Highway Administration. What they should have done with us at the table, given how this impacts New Jersey, and this is what we're suing for, is to do what they call a full-blown environmental impact study. Now, it may take a while, but it's worth it. And at the end of the day, listen, if we had had the two new rail tunnels built under the Hudson River, which, by the way, Chris Christie canceled, or if we had the shiny new Port Authority bus terminal, which again he dragged his feet on, would be in a different place. Our commuters would have alternatives. Those alternatives finally are coming to pass, but it will take a while longer. At the moment, those don't exist.
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I mean, this is a classic us versus them playbook that they, unfortunately, the other party too often than not wheels out. And it's, frankly, offensive. She is an icon. She is an icon in the south Asian community, in the African American community, among millions of women in this country. I, frankly, think it's offensive and I think, at the end of the day, it's a losing strategy.
Folks want to focus on the - the strength of our country. The Biden-Harris team has delivered 13 million jobs over 50 - 50 -- it's been over 50 years since unemployment has stayed this low, under 4 percent.
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The investment in infrastructure. The investment in communities.
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At the end of the day, the record will win out.
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