--- title: Questions New Jersey Governor Chris Christie Doesn't Want To Answer description: He is making moves to prepare for a presidential run but declines to answer questions like a presidential candidate. canonical: https://time.com/2978807/chris-christie-national-governors-association/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-07-13T00:44:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:47:47.261Z article:section: Politics og:title: Questions New Jersey Governor Chris Christie Doesn't Want To Answer og:description: He is making moves to prepare for a presidential run but declines to answer questions like a presidential candidate. og:url: https://time.com/2978807/chris-christie-national-governors-association/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57ad5a884da17335/69868a6435ba6fbcebc017e7/94ac01211a9d46bc875e6633492abf6d-0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: Chris Christie og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Questions New Jersey Governor Chris Christie Doesn't Want To Answer twitter:description: He is making moves to prepare for a presidential run but declines to answer questions like a presidential candidate. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt57ad5a884da17335/69868a6435ba6fbcebc017e7/94ac01211a9d46bc875e6633492abf6d-0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here Are The Questions Chris Christie Doesn't Want To Answer > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Zeke J Miller/Nashville](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J Miller/Nashville Jul 13, 2014 12:44 AM UTC  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](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke J Miller/Nashville Jul 13, 2014 12:44 AM UTC 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. 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