Chris Christie slams Obama as a 'weakling' on foreign policy
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.
-
Andriy Yermak: how weak is Zelenskyy without his right-hand man?Today's Big Question Resignation of Ukrainian president’s closest ally marks his ‘most politically perilous moment yet’
-
Is it time to rethink the US presidential pardon?Talking Point Donald Trump has taken advantage of his pardon power to reward political allies and protect business associates, say critics
-
Step into a fairy tale at San Ysidro RanchThe Week Recommends This historic Californian hideaway is pure magic
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
