This Week with George Stephanopoulos: Former Gov. Chris Christie
Interview
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I've had enough of a guy who sounds like ChatGPT.
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Not really, Martha. I mean, I think that, you know, I answered the questions as I always do, really directly, looked into the camera and spoke to the audience at home and told them the truth.
And the truth is that, you know, we can't have a convicted felon as our nominee for president and expect we're going to win. And it was really the most amazing part of the debate to me was the idea that, you know, the majority of my competitors believe that you can have a convicted felon as our nominee for president, and that they support that and that he could win. I think that's an impossibility.
And I think what it will mean for folks across the country is four more years of Joe Biden. And for Republican primary voters, they have to think about what that will mean -- potentially a packed Supreme Court, potentially the elimination of the filibuster, and a lot more.
So what's at stake here is we need to nominate someone who's proven that they can beat Democratic incumbents. And I was the only one on that stage that's ever done that, and I'll beat Joe Biden if I get the nomination.
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Well, look, Hunter Biden's not on the ballot. And you know that I predicted weeks before the Hunter Biden plea was rejected that it would be rejected because it was a completely one-sided plea deal in favor of Hunter Biden. Now he's going to face the same type of trial that Donald Trump's going to face.
And here's the interesting part -- you know, some of those voters who say that say the Hunter Biden thing matters, but Donald Trump's doesn't. That's just wishful thinking. The fact is that the two people who would be on the ballot if we nominated Donald Trump will be Donald Trump and Joe Biden, not Hunter Biden.
And the fact is it's the conduct of the people who are running for office that's going to matter the most. We may find out more about President Biden in the months to come, but the fact is, right now, Donald Trump is out on bail in four different jurisdictions in this country.
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-- that is not going to be the main thing, then they don't understand the way politics works.
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You know, that's -- I've seen other polls that said I performed as high as second or third in the debate that night.
I don't think those instant polls really matter all that much. What matters and what's going to endure is do people see someone up there telling the truth or not. Do you see it (ph) playing politics or do you see it (ph) working for the American people and what they believe in?
I stood up there and said very clearly that we need to be more aggressive in Ukraine, that -- and when you see Vladimir Putin this week murdering Prigozhin, his political opponent and military opponent, you see the way Vladimir Putin does things. Now, if that's folks -- is that someone that folks on the stage want to be associated with, they're going to be judged on that.
I want to stand with the free people of Ukraine because this is a fight against China. This is a proxy war against China. China is funding Russia, Martha, as you know, to prosecute this war.
And we need to stand up against China in every corner of the world right now to send them a very clear message that, you know, if they try to get aggressive themselves, the juice is not going to be worth the squeeze. But I never come out on the stage --
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-- where I am (ph) ambiguous.
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I don't think he'll show up for the next one. I never thought he would show up for the next one. It's at the Reagan Library. And, of course, Ronald Reagan being an honest, direct, successful conservative, Donald Trump would not want to get anywhere near the Reagan Library and suffer that comparison.
But we'll see if he shows up for debate number three in Alabama. I think that one is much more likely that he'll show up. I certainly don't think he'll be showing up at the Reagan Library.
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Look, I think the idea of, why didn't we go after this one or go after that one. My job is to communicate my vision for the future of the country. And if there's something that someone says that I drastically object to and I have the opportunity to do so, I'll do it, as you saw me do with Vivek on a number of occasions.
Governor DeSantis' answers that night, while some of them I disagreed with, I didn't think it rose to the level of having to get in a back and forth with him in the first debate in August of 2023.
Here's one thing I'm happy -- there are two things, actually, I'm happy to predict for you, Martha. Number one is that, whatever happens in debate number one will not be determinative of the Iowa caucus or the New Hampshire primary. And number two is, you know, I heard you say earlier, if the -- if the election were held today, I guarantee you it will not be.
And so we're going to have a lot of campaign to continue. We're now sitting firmly in second place in New Hampshire. That's where my focus is, because this is not a national primary, it's a state by state primary, as you know, and we're going to focus our efforts in New Hampshire and in South Carolina in an attempt to win those primaries as we get to them in January and February of 2024.
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Thanks for having me, Martha. I appreciate it.
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