Christie offers blunt talk, anti-terror bona fides in return to main GOP debate

Tuesday night in Las Vegas, in the first Republican presidential debate since the mass shootings in San Bernardino and Paris and on the day every school in Los Angeles was closed after an emailed terror threat, Gov. Chris Christie worked to burnish his anti-terror bona fides.

Christie repeated that he was the only candidate to prosecute terrorists — which he did as U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey before being elected governor in 2009.

In the last debate, Christie was relegated to the undercard. He appeared to relish his return to the main stage and clearly scored points with the crowd. He set the tone in his opening remarks.

“America has been betrayed. We’ve been betrayed by the leadership that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have provided to this country over the last number of years,” Christie said. “What has Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton done to this country that the most basic responsibility of an administration is to protect the safety and security of the American people? I will tell you this: As a former federal prosecutor I fought terrorists and won.”

The governor doubled down on his position not to accept Syrian refugees who want to enter New Jersey. He sent the president a letter in November informing him of the decision. He said he would not change his mind until the director of the FBI tells him the vetting process is effective.

“When Jim Comey gets up before Congress and says we cannot effectively vet these people, for me as president that is the end of the conversation," he said. "We have to put America's security first. The American people, we on this stage, need to open our ears. The American people are not whispering to us, they are screaming to us."

Perhaps Christie’s most controversial moment came almost two hours into the debatem when he was asked if as president would he shoot down Russian jets if the pilots went over a designated no-fly zone. His answer was not vague by any stretch of the imagination.

“Not only would I be prepared to do it, I would do it. A no-fly zone means a no-fly zone. That's what it means. Maybe because I’m from New Jersey I have this kind of plain-language hang up,” Christie said. “Yes, we would shoot down the planes of Russian pilots, if in fact they were stupid enough to think that this President is the same feckless weakling that the President we have in the Oval Office is right now.”

The very first question focused on how the candidates would keep the country safe.

“We need a president that understands what actionable intelligence looks like and we need a president and a cabinet that understands that the first and most important priority as the president of the United States is to protect the safety and security of Americans,” he said. “As someone who has done it, I will make sure it gets done again.”

Moderator Wolf Blitzer asked Christie directly if attacks like the one that killed 14 people in San Bernardino two weeks ago were the new normal. The governor said they were — under President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

“We have people across this country who are scared to death,” Christie responded. “Because I could tell you this, as a former federal prosecutor, if a center for the developmentally disabled in San Bernardino, Calif., is now a target for terrorists, that means everywhere in America is a target for these terrorists.”

Several candidates took turns talking about national security legislation they’ve either supported or opposed. Christie couldn’t pass up the chance to take a shot at them.

“Listen, I want to talk to the audience at home for a second,” he said as he eyed the camera directly. “If your eyes are glazed over like mine this is what it is like to be on the floor of the United States Senate. I mean endless debates about how many angels on the head of a pin from people who have never had to make a consequential decision in an executive position.

Christie also said many of the candidates on the stage with him participated in adopting some of the failed policies of this nation, but they were acting as if they had nothing to do with it.

“They talk like they were bystanders,” Christie said. “You know, we talk about our military being degraded over time and, yet, we've had folks on the stage who have been a part Congress who have participated in sequester, who participated in the degrading of this military over time.”

Donald Trump’s controversial call to ban all Muslims from entering the United States came up as anyone who follows politics expected, but Christie wasn't directly asked about that. Trump was actually heckled before answering a foreign policy question.

Christie detailed his foreign policy on ISIS and Iran in two brief sentences: "We need to focus our attention on Iran because if we miss Iran, we're not going to get ISIS. The two are inextricably connected."

How would Christie respond to a cyber attack by China against the United States? He was asked directly about that and he said it has already happened.

“They need to be fought back on and what we need to do is to go at the things that they are most sensitive and most embarrassing to them that they’re hiding (and) get that information and put it out in public. Let the Chinese people start to digest how corrupt the Chinese government is, how they steal from the Chinese people,” he said.

Christie also used his closing statement in an attempt to finish strong.

“Radical jihadist terrorism is not theoretical to me. It’s real and for seven years I spent my life protecting our country against another one of those attacks,” he said, referencing the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. “You won’t have to worry when I’m President of the United States whether that can be done because I’ve already done it. I want the chance to do it again to protect you, your children and your families if you give me the chance and give me your vote I will protect America from the wars that are being brought to our doorstep.”

Heading into the debate Christie, was sixth among Republican presidential candidates nationally in the latest Real Clear Politics average of the seven most recent polls. He has gained moment in the early primary state of New Hampshire where he is now ranked third.

Kevin McArdle has covered the State House for New Jersey 101.5 news since 2002. Contact him at kevin.mcardle@townsquaremedia.com. Follow him on twitter at @kevinmcardle1.