New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie leveled harsh criticism at some fellow Republicans taking a more libertarian approach to foreign policy, calling the tendency “dangerous.”
“As a former prosecutor who was appointed by President George W. Bush on Sept. 10, 2001, I just want us to be really cautious, because this strain of libertarianism that’s going through both parties right now and making big headlines, I think, is a very dangerous thought,” Christie said in a speech in Aspen, Colo., the Washington Post reports.
Christie was asked if those comments were specifically directed at Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, one of Christie’s potential 2016 presidential primary competitors, if both opt to run.
“You can name any number of people and he’s one of them,” Christie said.
“I want them to come to New Jersey and sit across from the widows and the orphans and have that conversation,” he continued. “And they won’t, because that’s a much tougher conversation to have.”
Christie’s remarks came one day after an amendment to defund the National Security Agency’s phone data collection program narrowly failed in the House of Representatives.
“I think what we as a country have to decide is: Do we have amnesia? Because I don’t. And I remember what we felt like on September 12, 2001,” Christie said.