Christie Talks 2016, Blasts Obama Handling Of ISIS Threat
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Gov. Chris Christie says he hasn't decided yet whether he'll run for president.
But in an interview with "CBS This Morning" anchor Gayle King, he says that his decision will hang on the answers he gives himself to three critical questions.
Christie said he'll have to answer "yes'' to the questions of whether the move is right for himself, right for his family and right for the country.
"If I answer all three of those, 'yes' -- I'll run. If I answer any one of them, 'no' -- I won't," he said. "It's that simple."
When asked if the governor was "softening," Christie said he's been "who he's always been."
"I just don't have one club in the bag," he said. "You have to understand as a leader, there are times when you have to be tough and direct and times when you have to be softer and listen and I can do both."
Christie does say he hopes to make his decision early next year.
He also blasted President Barack Obama's leadership in the handling of the threat from ISIS when asked about comments the president made in a "60 Minutes" interview with Steve Kroft on Sunday.
Christie said it wasn't what the president said, but how he said it, King reported.
"He used the word 'they.' He said 'They underestimated it.' Don't say they underestimated it Mr. President -- we underestimated it -- his administration, he underestimated it and you need to accountable for those things," Christie said."You're not always directly responsible, but you need, when you're the leader, to be accountable."
Christie also denied that he would have used the word "they" during the George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal.
"No, I stood up the day after it all became public and said 'I am accountable.' While I didn't know what happened, it happened on my watch and I'm accountable," he said. "I stood up for an hour and 50 minutes and took questions and never once have I skirted from my accountability and that's all I'm talking about."
He was interviewed in New Jersey, where he was appearing at a conference on drug addiction.
Check Out These Other Stories From CBSNewYork.com:
(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
