FOX News "Your World with Cavuto" - Transcript

Interview

NEIL CAVUTO, HOST OF "YOUR WORLD": Well, talk about one of your more unusual job summits. Only, this one wasn't featuring a president, but a governor. And it was one moderated by a TV anchor, me, no politics, no bias, no bull -- just jobs and how to find jobs.

So, when New Jersey Governor Chris Christie asked if I would be interested in moderating this pow-wow with big-time CEOs of all political stripes to find ways to create jobs way beyond the Garden State, I said, sure, that I'd have done the same if his Democratic predecessor, Jon Corzine, had asked, which he did not.

Wait until we show you these remarkably frank exchanges at this forum later tonight on FOX Business Network, which the governor likes to remind you, if you do not get...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Demand it!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Demand it!

CAVUTO: That's right.

But back to the governor and the sudden notoriety of not only what business types meet with him, but, curiously, what political types meet with him, like a certain hush-hush dinner Governor Christie had with one Mitt Romney.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE, R-N. J.: Governor Romney had been asking for a few months to get together and talk about the future, and to meet some folks here in New Jersey.

And so I invited him to the governor's residence a few weeks ago to have dinner with me and -- and some of my supporters in the state and just talked about how he views the next couple of years in America.

CAVUTO: Did he talk about running for president?

CHRISTIE: He said he was giving it some thought, but he hadn't made a final decision yet.

CAVUTO: Did he talk, if he did, if he would have you run with him?

CHRISTIE: Not, that did not come up.

CAVUTO: At all?

CHRISTIE: No.

CAVUTO: Really?

CHRISTIE: No.

CAVUTO: OK. So, you're not going to tell me anything more about the dinner?

(CROSSTALK) CHRISTIE: That's about it. I mean, you know, it -- it was friendly conversation, Governor Romney laying out, you know, what he thinks the issues and the problems are in the country right now, and...

CAVUTO: Do you think he is the front-runner?

CHRISTIE: You know it's hard to tell. I think it is a very wide- open field. I really do. And I don't think -- first of all, no one has declared in the race yet.

CAVUTO: Well, your friend Mitch Daniels polls well in some of these.

CHRISTIE: Listen and Mitch has a great story to tell...

CAVUTO: Yes.

CHRISTIE: ... what he has done in Indiana and -- and has private sector experience from his years at Eli Lilly. And so he's got a very compelling story, as do a number of the other candidates.

But I think it is really wide-open right now. I wouldn't say there is any front-runner.

CAVUTO: The reason why I ask, Governor -- I know you're asked this all the time, Governor, so just add me to the long list -- that there was one political columnist who wrote -- I'm sorry, I forgot the name -- said that you would make a more compelling case running for president in 2016.

By then, you would have either proven or disproven this New Jersey miracle thing. I'm sure you hope proven it. And, assuming in this case, this writer was saying, the president is reelected, the Republicans would flock to you.

CHRISTIE: Well, who knows? I mean, that's, what, five years from now? I mean, who knows what life is going to be like five years from now?

And I have a job to do over the next three years here in New Jersey to make things happen here and to continue to build on momentum we have. I have to decide whether to seek re-election in New Jersey in 2013 to another term. And if I did, would I get re-elected?

There's all kinds of variables that will happen between now and then.

CAVUTO: But you do think it makes a more compelling case to wait out to see whether you succeed here?

CHRISTIE: I don't know whether that's it or really it's, do you feel ready? And as I've said many times before, I think if you're going to run for president of the United States, you have to feel both in your mind and in your heart that you are ready. And I'm not running for president because I don't feel I'm ready.

CAVUTO: You already have more experience now than Barack Obama did.

CHRISTIE: I understand. And I also understand that people will say that there's great opportunity here because the field is wide-open for someone like me to run.

CAVUTO: Right.

CHRISTIE: But I don't think those are the reasons you run, because you might have more experience than someone else or because there might be great political opportunity.

I think the job is much too serious. And you have to look inside yourself and say, am I ready for this? And I know -- believe me, I have political advisers who say to me, oh, just don't say that. Don't say you're not ready.

But, in my heart, that's what I really believe, that I'm not ready to do something like that. I don't know if I ever will be. But I know I'm not right now. And I know what I want to do right now is be the governor of New Jersey. And I love my job and I love doing it every day. So, it's great to be asked. And -- and it's very flattering, but I know -- I know who I am.

CAVUTO: What do you think of the media obsession with you?

CHRISTIE: Oh, geez, I don't know if it is an obsession. I think there's an interest in the fact that I kind of say things very plainly.

I think, more than anything else, that it's based on the way I say things and the things that we have accomplished so far. We have some really concrete accomplishments, 9 percent decrease in state spending, real dollar-over-dollar, year-over-year state spending, a cap on property taxes, you know, vetoing a large income tax increase, cutting corporate business taxes, all in one year.

I think people see that you're doing these things in this economy. They're intrigued by that. And, listen, I have a very plain way of speaking. And I think that people like, for once, to listen to a politician who doesn't fog them over when they're talking, but just says it as -- very plainly.

And, you know, sometimes, that might get me in a little bit of trouble, but I'm happy to -- to live with the upside.

CAVUTO: Because I want to know why you waste your time going on MSNBC.

(LAUGHTER) CHRISTIE: Listen, you know what? Everybody deserves to hear from governors...

(LAUGHTER) CHRISTIE: ... no matter which network you look on -- you work on. And I love being on Fox. I love being with you, but I also love going on MSNBC every once in a while.

CAVUTO: Well, what I like, you don't hold grudges with anyone...

CHRISTIE: No.

CAVUTO: ... which is interesting.

Could I get a sense then of -- of the high expectations you set, Governor, coming out like gangbusters, balancing a budget, without doing the tax increases. Now you're facing something like that on steroids this second full year.

Hard act to repeat, isn't it?

CHRISTIE: Well, it is. It's never easy. That's why people don't typically do it, because it's not easy. And they like to take the easy way out. We're not taking easy way out in New Jersey anymore.

CAVUTO: So, you won't issue bonds, or you won't do any of that stuff?

CHRISTIE: Oh. Oh, no, we are not going to play games of issuing debt for operating expenses. That's been done in New Jersey before. No. No, we're going to do that; we're going to play it straight.

CAVUTO: But you're risking lawsuits, right? Some of these state pensioners are saying, you go after my pension, Governor, I'm suing you.

CHRISTIE: Well, listen, get in line. Lots of people are suing me. And lots more will. When you take bold action that's what happens. And we will let the chips fall where they may.

CAVUTO: Well, they say, what they paid in, what the state promised them is a sacred legal right, and you can't touch it.

CHRISTIE: Well, listen, that's to be determined by courts.

And one thing I know is, there's an independent study done that came out couple of months ago that said that 11 states are in danger of having their pension funds run out of money by 2020. And New Jersey's one of those states.

So, they can call it a sacred trust, if they want, but if there is no money, then they'll get nothing.

CAVUTO: Do you worry that many in your party, Governor, talk the talk of addressing, I guess, nationally what you're looking at, pensions, but let's say for the greater part of it, Medicare, Social Security, their big issues, entitlement issues, and they're not doing it?

CHRISTIE: Oh, listen, I was very clear. And I was on your program during the campaign last fall.

And I said this is put-up-or-shut-up time for the Republican Party. We came into office, I in 19 -- in 2009, and now congressional Republicans and other governors in 2010, saying we were going to cut spending, we were going to tackle the big issues, we were going to go after the things that are really driving huge government growth and expense.

Well, we better do it. We're doing it in New Jersey. I mean, I have laid out a plan to raise the retirement age, eliminate COLAs, increase employee contributions to make pensions more solvent, increase the amount employees pay for their health insurance to make that fund more solvent.

They're very analogous to Social Security and Medicare on the federal level. We're doing the tough things that need to be done.

CAVUTO: But does it make you anxious? I saw one of these YouTube exchanges. It popped up on YouTube, Governor, I think with a -- a policeman...

CHRISTIE: Yes.

CAVUTO: ... who was saying that he can't afford -- because you put a 2 percent cap on increases, he can't afford what you're telling him to kick in for health care. And I think you said something, well, that's what we all do, find a way.

CHRISTIE: Got to make choices.

CAVUTO: But he's a policeman.

CHRISTIE: Yes.

CAVUTO: Any angst there?

CHRISTIE: No. He is a public employee. And I honor what police officers do. I do. And I honor the fact that they put their lives on the line to keep us safe.

But that does not mean that we can set up two classes of people in New Jersey, those who get big benefits and those who pay for them. And what I was saying to that police officer that day was I understand you're upset. And I -- and I don't like being the guy who comes here when the party's over, but the party's over.

And so maybe it means you don't get the Cadillac health plan that costs $24,000 a year, if you're being asked to pay 30 percent of the cost then, and you can't afford the $8,000. Maybe it means you get a less expensive health plan that's $16,000 a year, and maybe then you can afford one-third of that.

But we can't afford it anymore. The taxpayers of New Jersey can't afford it anymore.

CAVUTO: Governor, on health care, it's really looking dicey now. A judge has essentially said, the whole forced coverage thing, it's unconstitutional or illegal.

You're a pretty good lawyer in your own right. Where do you think this is going? How would it affect your state?

CHRISTIE: Well, it is going to the Supreme Court. I mean, I think it's now clear that this is going to have to be resolved by the United States Supreme Court.

I have always said that I thought that the -- the mandate was a bad idea, and that the health care plan, as adopted by Congress and signed by the president, was a bad idea. I think now we're seeing legal pressure being put on that.

And I hope that what's going to happen is that the Supreme Court upholds what happened in the lower court, and then we have to start over. And I think having a debate where everybody's involved -- and now with Republicans controlling the House, everyone will have to be involved. It can't get jammed through in a partisan way.

Maybe then we can get a really good bipartisan bill that will help to address the cost of health care for everybody across America and -- and access to it as well.

CAVUTO: If I can ask you a personal question, Governor, recently, you were invited to the White House state dinner for Chinese President Hu Jintao. And you were one of maybe two Republicans who showed up. John Boehner, the speaker, declined. Mitch McConnell did not go with his wife, Elaine Chao.

What did you think of that?

CHRISTIE: Well, listen; I -- first of all, Mary Pat and I were honored to be invited by the president to come there.

And we really felt it was a night -- and I said this that night -- where you're not about being a Republican or a Democrat. It's about being an American. And China is an important country that we are going to have to have interaction on a whole bunch of levels and do have a lot of interaction with now. We need to be talking to each other.

CAVUTO: Well, how was the president to you?

CHRISTIE: President Obama was fabulous. I mean, you know, I mean, listen, we -- we've gotten along just fine in terms of our personal relationship. And I don't mean to imply we have an extensive one, but what...

CAVUTO: Were you surprised when you got the invite?

CHRISTIE: A little bit, yes, a little bit, but happy. You know, it felt like, this is great. It's great for New Jersey.

CAVUTO: So, it wasn't like you sizing the place up or...

CHRISTIE: No. It was me going there to represent the great state of New Jersey...

(LAUGHTER)

CHRISTIE: ... and to -- and to have conversations with lots of really interesting and -- and important people who were there.

CAVUTO: Did you talk to Barbra Streisand?

CHRISTIE: We didn't speak.

(LAUGHTER)

CHRISTIE: We had an incident with seats at the -- at the -- at the concert, where Ms. Streisand and her husband were sitting in seats that were reserved for me and my wife.

CAVUTO: I heard. That's why I was asking.

CHRISTIE: They were asked to move out. So, we didn't actually have a conversation. But they were nice enough to get out of our seats and let us sit down.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CAVUTO: Can you imagine Babs is sitting in your seat? "Go!"

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