New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) took aim at the National Rifle Association at a Thursday press conference in Trenton.
Risking the ire of the conservative base of his party yet again, Christie called the recent NRA ad calling President Obama an “elitist hypocrite” because his daughters have armed guards at school “reprehensible.”
“To talk about the president’s children or any public officer’s children who have, not by their own choice, but by requirement to have protection and to use that somehow to try to make a poetical point I think is reprehensible,” Christie said.
The NRA has faced widespread criticism for the ad. NRA leaders have claimed the spot was not about Obama’s daughters, even though it makes direct reference to Obama’s children. Christie said the NRA risked its credibility with the ad.
“They’ve got real issues to debate on this topic. Get to the real issues,” Christie said. “Don’t be dragging people’s children into this. It’s wrong and I think it demeans them [the NRA] and it makes them less of a valid, trusted source of information on the real issues that confront this debate.”
Christie, who saw many Republicans turn on him after he supported Obama’s actions in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy and the days before the 2012 presidential election, is clearly not concerned about taking on one of the conservative movement’s most powerful lobbying groups. He is also unconcerned about what it might mean for his standing with the GOP base. His office clipped the line about the NRA from the press conference and tweeted it Thursday afternoon.
Here’s video of Christie on the NRA’s ad, posted by his office to YouTube:
