SANDOWN, N.H.—New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie criticized Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts during a town hall meeting in New Hampshire on Tuesday, several hours after launching his presidential campaign.
Asked by an audience member what he thought about the Supreme Court decisions last week upholding Obamacare subsidies and legalizing same-sex marriage, and what type of judges he would appoint as president, Christie expressed admiration for Justice Samuel Alito.
“If you read Justice Alito’s opinions, what they are, are an absolute tribute to what the role of the court should be in my opinion,” Christie said. “Which is that they’re not there to make laws, they’re not there to make social policy, they’re there to interpret the laws passed by the Congress and signed by the president, and that’s it.”
He said he’s made New Jersey’s Supreme Court “more conservative” with the three appointees he chose.
Christie said he is “incredibly disappointed” in Chief Justice Roberts.
“He had two opinions that you couldn’t square with each other,” Christie said. “On Thursday, he writes an opinion on Obamacare that basically says ‘I know the words don’t say this, but I think they mean it, so I’m going to vote to keep Obamacare.’ The next day, he votes against same-sex marriage by saying ‘the court has no role in second-guessing the people and their legislature.’ Well, man, you just did it yesterday. Right? So this is the problem.”
He called Alito’s opinions “consistent and reasoned.”
“If I became president of the United States, I’d be out there looking for Sam Alitos to put on the court,” Christie said.
Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., at a town hall in Sandown, N.H. (Photo: Kate Scanlon/The Daily Signal)
Christie, the fourteenth Republican to enter the race for president, said that he is ready for the upcoming debate.
“I want to be the next president of the United States and I intend to win this election,” he said.
Christie described himself as “battle-tested,” citing his record of “executive experience” as a conservative governor of New Jersey.
He said he is uniquely qualified to defeat Democrat front-runner Hillary Clinton due to his victory in New Jersey’s gubernatorial election over his Democrat rival state Sen. Barbara Buono, whom he called ideologically similar to Clinton.
“You can absolutely lay your opponent out without saying a bad word,” Christie said.
In an allusion to some of his Republican rivals, Christie also said “we have already tried” electing a “one-term senator as president of the United States” and that president has been a failure.
Christie touted his record of “compromise.”
He said that due to his Irish father and Sicilian mother, he became an “expert at dispute resolution” from “a very young age.”
His upbringing, he said, taught him that “honest disagreement” and “honest compromise” are necessary in life and in government.