GOP presidential candidate Chris Christie said Monday that he's not going to be a complainer about the questions that were fired at him during the CNBC debate, as it wasn't shocking that moderator John Harwood was biased.
"He's been that way his entire career," the New Jersey governor told
MSNBC's "Morning Joe" program. "If you're standing there expecting to get a fair question from Harwood . . . I thought he was interviewing me."
But in a debate, moderators are supposed to pose a question, and if they don't like the answer, they can do a follow up, not argue.
"They didn't run the debate the right way," Christie said. "It was totally out of hand and crazy . . . Everybody was jumping in and interrupting each other. Some of that is going to happen, but [Ohio Gov. John] Kasich was doing it 30 seconds in."
But Christie said he doesn't care who the moderators are, because if he can't handle the moderators, 'I've got no business running against Hillary Clinton . . . Debates are about seeing how someone responds under pressure, seeing whether you can think on your feet. The presidency is going to make you think on your feet. If you can't do that, that's going to be a problem."
Meanwhile, the governor told
CNN's "New Day" that he does not want to be counted among the group "doing this moaning and complaining about it."
"We went to the meeting yesterday to listen," said Christie. "I support the RNC continuing to make these decisions. I'm not one of these guys that will moan and complain about it."
Christie said he did not say anything after the CNN or Fox debates, but in the case of the CNBC debate, the moderators were interrupting the candidates, and he will comment on such things.
"But that doesn't mean I want us, the candidates, controlling the debate, format, and having everybody negotiate," he told the CNN program.
The governor also appeared on
Fox News' "Fox & Friends" program, where he reiterated his stance on the debate process.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.