Chris Christie slams Obama as a 'weakling' on foreign policy
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
In a wide-ranging interview with President Obama on CBS' 60 Minutes on Sunday, host Steve Kroft suggested that with Russia's military activity in Syria, President Vladimir Putin is "challenging [Obama's] leadership." Obama disputed that notion, arguing that force isn't the only way to lead and that Putin's tactics, which the U.S. opposes, aren't "an indication of strength."
Obama's stance on force is often criticized by Republicans who believe the president doesn't do enough to settle conflicts abroad.
"He thinks that if you do nothing, you can't get in trouble," Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.) said Monday on MSNBC's Morning Joe.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
As president, Christie said he'd take a more aggressive approach to getting Putin out of Syria.
"If you think that running your economy into the ground and having to send troops in, in order to prop up your only ally, is leadership, then we've got a different definition of leadership," he said, adding that Obama is a "weakling" who is "punching above his weight" with Putin.
Obama wasn't the only person Christie called out Monday. The governor, a huge Mets fan, had a bone to pick with Chase Utley's slide Saturday: "He's a dog. He tackled the guy."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Julie Kliegman is a freelance writer based in New York. Her work has appeared in BuzzFeed, Vox, Mental Floss, Paste, the Tampa Bay Times and PolitiFact. Her cats can do somersaults.
-
The 8 best superhero movies of all timethe week recommends A genre that now dominates studio filmmaking once struggled to get anyone to take it seriously
-
The plan to wall off the ‘Doomsday’ glacierUnder the Radar Massive barrier could ‘slow the rate of ice loss’ from Thwaites Glacier, whose total collapse would have devastating consequences
-
Trump’s fuel blockade puts Cuba in crisis modeIN THE SPOTLIGHT Plummeting tourism, scrambling airlines and rolling blackouts are pushing Cuban society to the brink
-
Judge blocks Trump suit for Michigan voter rollsSpeed Read A Trump-appointed federal judge rejected the administration’s demand for voters’ personal data
-
US to send 200 troops to Nigeria to train armySpeed Read Trump has accused the West African government of failing to protect Christians from terrorist attacks
-
Grand jury rejects charging 6 Democrats for ‘orders’ videoSpeed Read The jury refused to indict Democratic lawmakers for a video in which they urged military members to resist illegal orders
-
Judge rejects California’s ICE mask ban, OKs ID lawSpeed Read Federal law enforcement agents can wear masks but must display clear identification
-
Lawmakers say Epstein files implicate 6 more menSpeed Read The Trump department apparently blacked out the names of several people who should have been identified
-
Japan’s Takaichi cements power with snap election winSpeed Read President Donald Trump congratulated the conservative prime minister
-
Trump sues IRS for $10B over tax record leaksSpeed Read The president is claiming ‘reputational and financial harm’ from leaks of his tax information between 2018 and 2020
-
Trump, Senate Democrats reach DHS funding dealSpeed Read The deal will fund most of the government through September and the Department of Homeland Security for two weeks
