Chris Christie Takes Aim at Political Novices in GOP Field

3 minute read

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie test-drove a new message highlighting his experience in a speech at the Council on Foreign Relations Tuesday, aimed at the political novices running for office.

Riffing on the theme of “newness” in a race in which experience has become a liability, Christie argued that ” new seems fabulous, until the moment comes when you need experience.”

Christie, a two-term governor and former U.S. Attorney, has adjusted his message in the wake of this month’s Paris attacks to highlight his time as a prosecutor, when some of his early cases dealt with terrorism charges.

The line of attack is aimed squarely at rivals like Sen. Marco Rubio, who is surging in the polls as a one-term lawmaker and is best positioned to compete with Christie in New Hampshire. Other targets are Donald Trump, Ben Carson, and Carly Fiorina, who currently are riding high in the polls on their outsider appeal.

Here’s what he said:

“Always in political campaigns there’s this emphasis on new. Right? New can be exciting. It really can. New can be exciting. It can be attractive. New can be wonderful. It’s shiny, it’s perfect, it’s untouched. New is untarnished. But new is untested. New is not necessarily reliable. New seems fabulous, until the moment comes when you need experience. Experience in taming the bureaucracy. Experience in facing down one’s adversaries, experience in staring down unfair attacks from the media. Experience in formulating policies that will actually work, that can serve people. This President was new in 2008 – boy was he ever. He was new. And let’s look at what that legacy of newness and inexperience has brought us. Record number of people out of the workforce, record number of people on disability, Obamacare, a more than doubling of the national debt, increased – not decreased – racial tensions in our country, and a foreign policy that, at best, has been inconsistent and ineffective. Just think of some of the things the President has told us just in the past few years. He claimed our borders were more secure than they have ever been. He claimed that after Gaddafi and Mubarak were gone that the Middle East would be a safer place. He said that Al Qaeda was on the run. He said that ISIS was the JV. And just hours before the attacks in Paris, he told George Stephanopoulos that his strategy was succeeding and that ISIS was contained. All of these statements, every one of them, has turned out to be wrong. This is the problem. Newness and inexperience allows you to see the world as you want to see it, as a fantasy. Not the way the world really is. We can’t afford to have another person behind the desk in the Oval Office who sees America as he sees it. We can’t afford to elect another president without the requisite experience and values that our founders enshrined in the Declaration and in the Constitution.”

Read Next: Chris Christie’s New Pitch: Elect a Prosecutor-In-Chief

See Chris Christie's Life in Photos

Chris Christie as an infant in 1963.Courtesy of Governor Chris Christie
The Christie family, from left to right, Todd, Dawn, and Chris, with mom, Sondra in an undated photo.
The Christie family, from left to right, Todd, Dawn, and Chris, with mom, Sondra in an undated photo.Courtesy of Governor Chris Christie
The Christie family, from left to right, Dawn, Todd and Chris, with mom, Sondra and dad, Bill in Singer Island, Fla., in 1974.
The Christie family, from left to right, Dawn, Todd and Chris, with mom, Sondra and dad, Bill in Singer Island, Fla., in 1974.Courtesy of Governor Chris Christie
An undated photo of Chris Christie, who played catcher for the Livingston High School varsity baseball team.
An undated photo of Chris Christie, who played catcher for the Livingston High School varsity baseball team.Courtesy of Governor Chris Christie
Chris Christie's senior class photo and profile from Livingston High School's yearbook in 1980.
Chris Christie's senior class photo and profile from Livingston High School's yearbook in 1980.Courtesy of Governor Chris Christie
Livingston High School 's yearbook profile on Chris Christie in 1980.
Livingston High School's yearbook profile on Chris Christie in 1980.Courtesy of Governor Chris Christie
An early photo of Chris Christie and his wife Mary Pat where the couple met at the University of Delaware.
An early photo of Chris Christie and his wife Mary Pat where the couple met at the University of Delaware.Courtesy of Governor Chris Christie
Chris Christie and Mary Pat on their wedding day in 1986.
Chris Christie and Mary Pat on their wedding day in 1986.Courtesy of Governor Chris Christie
At the Morris County Board of Freeholders reorganization meeting held at administration building in Morristown Chris Christie, left is sworn as freeholder, by Senator Joseph Kyrillos,Jr., as Christie’s wife Mary Pat holds the bible and their son Andrew during the ceremony.
Chris Christie, left, is sworn as freeholder, by Senator Joseph Kyrillos, Jr., as Christie’s wife Mary Pat holds the bible and their son Andrew during the Morris County Board of Freeholders reorganization meeting in Morristown, N.J. Patti Sapone—Star-Ledger
The Governor Chris Christie and his family in 1994.
The Governor Chris Christie and his family in 1994.Courtesy of Governor Chris Christie
Chris Christie and his wife Mary Pat at the inauguration of former president George W. Bush on Jan. 20, 2001.
Chris Christie and his wife Mary Pat at the inauguration of former president George W. Bush in Washington on Jan. 20, 2001.Courtesy of Governor Chris Christie
Chris Christie, center, answers a question on the steps of U.S. District Courthouse in Newark, N.J. on Aug. 13, 2003.
Chris Christie, center, answers a question on the steps of U.S. District Courthouse in Newark, N.J. on Aug. 13, 2003.Mike Derer—AP
NJ Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Christie Campaigns Day Before Election
New Jersey Republican nominee for Governor Chris Christie (C) and his running mate Sheriff Kim Guadagno (L) make some phone calls to voters at Monmouth County Republican Headquarters in Freehold, N.J. on Nov. 2, 2009.Hiroko Masuike—Getty Images
Christie Challenges Incumbent Gov. Corzine In Jersey's Gubernatorial Race
New Jersey Governor-elect Chris Christie and wife Mary Pat wave to election-night supporters at Christie's victory celebration in Parsippany, N.J. on Nov. 3, 2009.Stephen Chernin—Getty Images
Governor Chris Christie
Governor Chris Christie spends time with his daughter Bridget during Take Our Kids to Work Day in Trenton, N.J. on April 22, 2010. Matt Rainey—Star-Ledger
Talk-show host Oprah Winfrey poses with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker and Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, during a live broadcast of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on Sept. 24, 2010, in Chicago.
Talk-show host Oprah Winfrey poses with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker and Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, during a live broadcast of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" on Sept. 24, 2010, in Chicago.Harpo Productions/AP
New Jersey Commemorates 9/11 Memorial To 746 Residents Killed In Terror Attacks
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie lays a white rose on wreckage pulled from Ground Zero during the memorial dedication to the Empty Sky Memorial at Liberty State Park on Sept. 10, 2011 in Jersey City, N.J.Andrew Burton—Getty Images
Chris Christie
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, center, touches the stones of the Western Wall during his visit to Jerusalem's old city, April 2, 2012. Sebastian Scheiner—AP
The Obamas visit 1 World Trade Center.
President Barack Obama tours 1 World Trade Center with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, center, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, in New York City on, June 14, 2012.Doug Mills—The New York Times/Redux
REPUBS CONVENTION 4
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie kisses his wife, Mary Pat, at an appearance with the Michigan delegation at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Aug. 28, 2012.Max Whittaker—The New York Times/Redux
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New Jersey Governor Chris Christie speaks during the Republican National Convention at the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, Fla, on Aug. 28, 2012.Stan Honda—AFP/Getty Images
Mitt Romney and Chris Christie campaign in Ohio.
Mitt Romney, Republican presidential candidate, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and Bob White, left, a Romney adviser, on Romney's campaign bus in Mount Vernon, Ohio, Oct. 10, 2012. Jim Wilson—The New York Times/Redux
Saturday Night Live - Season 38
Governor Chris Christie, Seth Meyers on Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update on Nov. 11, 2012.NBC/Getty Images
FEMA Director Craig FugateSenator Robert Menendez
Governor Chris Christie and President Barack Obama hold a press conference after taking an ariel tour of the damage in New Jersey from Hurricane Sandy and and talking to residents in Brigantine, N.J. on Oct. 31, 2012. Tim Larsen—Governor's Office
Governor Christie tours hurricane damage in Little Ferry
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie comforts Kerri Berean whose home was damaged by Hurricane Sandy in Little Ferry, N.J., on Nov. 3, 2012.Tim Larsen—Governor's Office/Reuters
ABC's "Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2012"
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie appeared on "Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2012," which aired Dec. 12, 2012.Ida Mae Astute—ABC/Getty Images
New Jersey Governor Christie departs after giving his State of the State address in the assembly chamber in Trenton
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie departs after giving his State of the State address in the assembly chamber in Trenton, N.J. on Jan. 8, 2013. Christie renewed his calls to the U.S. Congress on Tuesday to quickly pass the full $60.4 billion Superstorm Sandy relief package, saying victims in New Jersey had been short-changed. Carlo Allegri—Reuters
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Gov. Chris Christie fixes his tie in his offfice before delivering his State Of The State address at the Statehouse, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2013, in Trenton, N.J.Edward Keating—Contact for TIME
US-POLITICS-OBAMA-SANDY
US President Barack Obama and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (L) walk along the boardwalk as they view rebuilding efforts following last year's Hurricane Sandy in Point Pleasant, N.J. on May 28, 2013. Saul Loeb—AFP/Getty Images
Governor Chris Christie is Reelected to a Second Term
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie celebrates his re-election in Asbury Park, N.J., on Nov. 5, 2013.Brooks Kraft—Corbis for TIME

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