Chris Christie tells Marco Rubio he's 'simply' not ready to be president

(Image credit: Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

published 7 February 2016

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie went after Florida Sen. Marco Rubio during the ABC News Republican Presidential Debate, saying that while he's a "smart person and a good guy," he's not ready to become president.

Christie compared Rubio to another one-term senator, President Obama, and said being a governor made him better prepared for the presidency. "Every morning when a United States senator wakes up they think about what kind of speech can I give or what kind of bill can I drop," he said. "Every morning when I wake up I think of what kind of problem can I solve for the people who actually elected me." Christie accused Rubio of never being involved in a "consequential decision where you had to be held accountable," and said he didn't even vote for the Hezbollah sanctions bill that "you list as one of your accomplishments. That's not leadership. That's truancy."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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