GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie is dismissing criticism of his jab at first lady Jill Biden in Wednesday’s presidential debate.
When asked why he took aim at the first lady, Christie pointed to a recent book put out about President Biden. It details conversations the president supposedly had with Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers.
“It talks very, very specifically about how Joe Biden told Randi Weingarten, ‘I told you, you’d have an advocate here in the White House for you, starting on Day 1, when they moved into the White House,’” Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, said on CNN. “That’s the history. Joe Biden has been a radical advocate for the worst in the teachers union.”
“And that’s why I brought it up because no one else is willing to,” he added. “No one else is willing to say it.”
Christie continued, arguing Biden was advocating for “the worst” by allowing school lockdowns to continue during the COVID-19 pandemic, even after saying “he would have them open within 100 days of his presidency.”
“He didn’t do that because of the pressure from his wife and from Randi Weingarten,” he argued.
During the debate Wednesday night, Christie blasted teachers unions by claiming they control the schools, instead of the public. He pointed to the first lady, who serves as a professor and a member of the teachers union, as the reason.
“This public school system is no longer run by the public. It is run by the teachers unions in this country,” the former governor said. “Randi Weingarten and her crew are absolutely strangling — they’re taking the worst of their members and defending them rather than advocating for our kids.”
“And when you have the president of the United States sleeping with a member of the teachers union, there is no chance that you could take the stranglehold away from the teachers union,” Christie added. “Every day, they have an advocate inside the White House — every day, for the worst of their teachers, not for our students to be the best they can be.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) ripped Christie’s jab as “disgusting” and “misogynistic,” saying “if Republicans want to continue pissing off an entire nation of women, please be my guest. We’ll see you at the ballot box.”
When asked about the congresswoman’s criticism, Christie again dismissed it and called her a “hypocrite.” He said he is “standing by the wording,” noting that Ocasio-Cortez’s criticism is “probably the highlight of my day so far.”