--- description: He is making moves to prepare for a presidential run but declines to answer questions like a presidential candidate. title: Questions New Jersey Governor Chris Christie Doesn't Want To Answer image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57ad5a884da17335/69868a6435ba6fbcebc017e7/94ac01211a9d46bc875e6633492abf6d-0.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2016 Election](/tag/2016-election/) ## 2016 Election Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Here Are The Questions Chris Christie Doesn't Want To Answer by [Zeke J Miller/Nashville](/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J Miller/Nashville Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 13, 2014 12:44 AM CUT  New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at a town hall meeting at Winston Churchill Elementary School, April 9, 2014, in Fairfield, N.J. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at a town hall meeting at Winston Churchill Elementary School, April 9, 2014, in Fairfield, N.J.Julio Cortez—AP by [Zeke J Miller/Nashville](/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J Miller/Nashville Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jul 13, 2014 12:44 AM CUT Sometimes the straight-talking governor of New Jersey doesn’t talk all that straight. Gov. Chris Christie casts himself as a decider, steering his state through rough economic waters, while setting himself up for a run for the White House. At the National Governors Association meeting in Nashville on Saturday, Christie lambasted the Obama administration’s Middle East policy and its inability to negotiate with Congress. But he skipped as many issues as he took on. Just what he would do when faced with some of the nation’s hardest policy challenges remains unclear. The man who hopes to one day inhabit the Oval Office repeatedly noted that he doesn’t yet have the job—a rhetorical crutch to avoid saying what he’d do if he got it. Here’s the list of the questions he dodged from reporters: _On raising the gas tax to pay for transportation infrastructure:_ “Since I’m not in Congress or the White House I’m going to let them make those decisions. I have to make those decisions in my state. They can make those decisions down there.” _On whether the unaccompanied minors cross the border illegally into the united states should be sent back:_ “I’m not going to get into all that. Again, that’s Washington’s job to figure these things out.” _Should the United States intervene militarily against Hamas?_ “I’m not going to give opinions on that. I’m not the president.” _Has he decided on whether illegal immigrants in the United States should be presented with a path to citizenship as part of an immigration reform package?_ “No, not as Governor of New Jersey I have not.” He’s brusque, he’s brash. He’s famous for his back-and-forth exchanges with protestors and hecklers. And even in dodging questions, Christie has a matter-of-fact speech and abrupt delivery that suggest candor. But sometimes he still doesn’t want to answer the questions. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2978807/chris-christie-national-governors-association/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2978807/chris-christie-national-governors-association/"},"headline":"Here Are The Questions Chris Christie Doesn't Want To Answer","datePublished":"2014-07-13T00:44:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:06:52.952Z","description":"He is making moves to prepare for a presidential run but declines to answer questions like a presidential candidate.","url":"https://time.com/2978807/chris-christie-national-governors-association/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic","Chris Christie","Transportation","Israel","Immigration","Hamas","border crisis"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57ad5a884da17335/69868a6435ba6fbcebc017e7/94ac01211a9d46bc875e6633492abf6d-0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke J Miller/Nashville"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57ad5a884da17335/69868a6435ba6fbcebc017e7/94ac01211a9d46bc875e6633492abf6d-0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Chris Christie","caption":"Chris Christie","creditText":"Julio Cortez—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2978807/chris-christie-national-governors-association/","name":"Here Are The Questions Chris Christie Doesn't Want To Answer"}}]}] ```