In case you missed it, political reporter Rebecca Kaplan brings you the highlights of New Jersey Gov. Christie’s Tuesday press conference about his decision to stay out of the race for the Republican nomination for president in 2012.
On his decision not to run for president:
“For me, the answer was never anything but no. My job here in New Jersey is my passion. I’ve always meant it when I said I feel like the luckiest guy in the world to have this job. I’m doing a job that I love in the state I grew up in.”
”Together with Mary Pat, my children, I believed I had an obligation to seriously consider what people were asking me to do. I’ll always be grateful for their confidence in me. Over the last few weeks, I’ve thought long and hard about this decision. I’ve explored the options. I’ve listened to so many people and considered whether this was something that I needed to take on. But in the end, what I’ve always felt was the right decision remains the right decision today. Now is not my time. I have a commitment to New Jersey that I simply will not abandon.”
So, New Jersey, whether you like it or not, you’re stuck with me.”
“But in the end, my commitment to the state is what overrode everything else. I mean, I asked for this job. I fought hard to get this job. And my job here isn't done. And it just never felt right to me to leave now.”
“… We were in the midst of the reconsideration when I went to the Reagan Library, so it didn't make a difference in that regard. I mean, you know, these are things I feel and felt for some time. I thought that was the appropriate forum to speak out about them. But, no, the speech, itself, or the reaction to the speech really didn’t have any effect on my decision making process.”
“ … I found that the advice I got from other people who had run for president was very dependent upon what they won or lost. You know? The ones who lost typically call this something like a nightmare. And the ones who won typically said it was really awful. So it was a slight difference, but not a significant one in terms of making your decision. No one to me endorsed the joy of running for president, in my experience. No one talked about that. Everyone talked about the sense of duty and obligation and honor and excitement about it. But, you know, nobody said, ‘Hhey, this would be a really good thing to do if you have nothing else to do.’ You know? It was not characterized that way.”
“ … I made the decision last night. I made the decision last night and I called my folks this morning and told them. And told them I wanted to announce it this afternoon. I went to bed last night for the first time in a few days knowing exactly what I wanted to do. Then I called everybody this morning and let them know what we were doing and that was it. Not a very complicated process. You know, as for the politics, again, it was never a consideration. It was about me getting to the point where I believed it was okay for me to leave. And I never got there, Brian. I mean -- it just -- I never could justify the idea of leaving the state early. And before the job was done. So that's kind of where it sat. You know, the rest of it is kind of irrelevant.”
On whether the primary calendar was a factor:
“No, none of them were a factor. I have a great political team and they were ready to do whatever I wanted them to do. In the end, the deciding factor was, it did not feel right to me in my gut to leave now when the job here is not finished.”
“There were a lot of extraordinary people -- extraordinarily accomplished people and a lot of really great regular Americans -- who wrote and called and tweeted. You know, all kinds of stuff. And, you know, there’s not one particular person, Kevin. In the end, you know, this decision’s my decision. It’s not anybody else’s decision. And there was no one who convinced me of it. It’s got to be your decision and today this decision is my decision.”
“Mary Pat and the kids were completely behind me running if that's what I wanted to do.”
“ … This isn't hard. I ran campaigns before. I've run lots of campaigns before. If you want to get in, you get in. Any time you get into a race, there are pluses and minuses for the candidacy. I have never put (a list) together where there were all pros and no cons. Never happens. Whenever you decide to get into something, you get in. That’s the way it works.”
“It’s not about any lack of confidence I have in anybody else. It’s about the fact that I’m the one who made the commitment. I’m the one who asked for the job. I’m the one who campaigned for the job and asked for it. That’s, in the end, what it was all about, was my commitment to them. It does not reflect any lack of confidence in any of the people I work with at all. It’s just about my commitment to the folks who voted for me and who elected me. And even to the folks who didn’t vote for me. But who now, you know, have me as governor. It's my commitment to them.”
On whether he will endorse a candidate in the GOP presidential primary:
Leave A Comment