TRENTON -- Former Republican New Jersey Gov. Tom Kean laughed off GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump's comments that Democratic U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine did a poor job governing New Jersey, and says other people have also confused the two.

FILE – In this March 28, 2006, file photo, former New Jersey Gov. Thomas Kean Sr., chairman of the 9/11 Commission, testifies during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said Wednesday, July 27, 2016, that presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's vice presidential running mate, U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., "did a terrible job in New Jersey," possibly confusing the Virginia senator with former Republican New Jersey Gov. Thomas "Tom" Kean Sr., who led the state as Trump built his casino empire in Atlantic City, N.J. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook, File)
FILE – In this March 28, 2006, file photo, former New Jersey Gov. Thomas Kean Sr., chairman of the 9/11 Commission, testifies during a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Dennis Cook, File)
loading...

Trump during a press conference Wednesday in Miami said Kaine still isn't popular in New Jersey. Kaine was governor of Virginia, and is Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton's running mate.

Trump corrected himself when asked if he meant Virginia.

Kean told The Record someone at a restaurant in New York tried to congratulate him for being selected as Clinton's running mate.

"Someone came over and said, `I want to shake your hand. Congratulations,' and I asked why and he said, `Hillary picked you,"' Kean said. "I said, `Not quite."'

Kean led New Jersey from 1982 to 1990 while Trump was building his casino empire in Atlantic City. He skipped this year's Republican National Convention because he doesn't support Trump.

Kean, who served as chairman of the bipartisan commission that investigated the security failures that led to the Sept. 11 attacks, said he didn't know if Trump was being serious when Trump said he hopes Russia finds the "30,000 emails that are missing" from Clinton's home email server she used while secretary of state.

Kean said intelligence agencies think cyber threats are the greatest threat the country currently faces. He said concerns about the Russians have been increasing for 10 years.

"They put it ahead of ISIS," Kean said, referring to the Islamic State group based in parts of Syria and Iraq.

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

 

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM