Chris Christie mocks Rand Paul's stance on government surveillance

Chris Christie and Rand Paul aren not friends

(Image credit: Fox News/TPM)

last updated 7 August 2015

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a former federal prosecutor, and Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), don't see eye-to-eye on federal surveillance, and that difference caused some sparks at Thursday's Republican presidential debate. After Christie criticized Paul's opposition to the NSA's bulk collection of cellphone metadata, in response to a question from moderator Megyn Kelly, Paul interjected: "I want to collect more record from terrorists, and less records from innocent Americans."

Christie found that risible. "That's a completely ridiculous answer," he said, repeating it in a mocking voice. "How are you supposed to know, Megyn?" Paul answered, "The Fourth Amendment!" — and things only got more heated and personal from there. "That was an interesting exchange — thank you for that," Kelly said when the exchange was over. And it was. You can watch below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.