New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took swipes at some potential rivals for the Republican residential nomination Thursday at the Republican National Committee Summer meeting in Boston, CNN reported.
“We are not a debating society,” Christie reportedly said in the closed door meeting with RNC members. “We are a political operation that needs to win.”
“My job is to win. I believe my job is to win. Our job is not to be college professors,” he added.
The comments, CNN reported, were taken as a slight to Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, a potential opponent of Christie’s in the 2016 Republican presidential primary. In April, Christie knocked what he called “esoteric debates” over foreign policy in a speech that sparked a feud with Paul.
Christie later took what was perceived to be a jab at Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, another potential 2016 contender.
“I’m not going to be one of these people who goes around and calls our party stupid,” he said. Jindal said in January that Republicans needed to “stop being the stupid party.”
“We need to stop navel gazing. There’s nothing wrong with our principles. We need to focus on winning again. There’s too much at stake for this to be an academic exercise. We need to win and govern with authority and courage,” Christie said.