Chris Christie Talks Politics at Rutgers
The ex-governor and regular guest lecturer pulled no punches in a dialogue with former campaign strategist Mike DuHaime
On a night focused on national politics, former governor Chris Christie took time to talk about what he considers his most important legacy in New Jersey: the expansion of Rutgers University through the 2013 integration with most of the former University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey.
Christie spoke Tuesday during a public event hosted by Rutgers University-New Brunswick’s Eagleton Institute of Politics that was part of a tour in promotion of his new book, Let Me Finish: Trump, the Kushners, Bannon, New Jersey, and the Power of In-Your-Face Politics.
His book chronicles his rise to power in New Jersey and shares his insight into President Trump’s administration. Christie spoke on the night of the State of the Union address, which he watched from the Eagleton Institute’s historic Woodlawn mansion before appearing on ABC News to give commentary.
But Christie started the evening before an audience of 450 students, alumni, faculty, staff and visitors at the Douglass Student Center talking about something he considered important closer to home before turning to national politics and his own 2016 presidential run.
“My predecessors (former governors Thomas Kean, James Florio and Jim McGreevey) said the merger of the medical schools into a consolidated Rutgers University system across the state was something they had tried to do,” Christie said.
The “impossible” accomplishment elevated Rutgers’ image nationwide and made it a powerhouse of federally funded research, Christie said. “I do think that years from now, people will look back and wonder how we got it done and will be glad we got it done. It made Rutgers a better place.”
Christie is a regular guest lecturer in Eagleton’s "Political Campaigning" class, which is jointly taught by his former lead campaign strategist Mike DuHaime, now a member of the university’s Board of Trustees and an Eagleton faculty associate, and Democratic strategist and adjunct faculty member Maggie Moran.
Tuesday’s event took the form of a dialogue with DuHaime. The full video can be found here.
Eagleton Institute Director Ruth B. Mandel noted that Christie’s guest lectures, in which he spends hours answering students’ questions, invariably include “the same phenomenon: a roomful of Rutgers undergrads, a large proportion of whom identify as Democrats, becoming wide-eyed, respectful, and frankly, spellbound by the wit, candor and knowledge of the (Republican) former governor.”
The ex-governor spoke with characteristic bluntness about his brief tenure at the head of President Trump’s transition team and relationship with Jared Kushner; his thoughts about current Gov. Phil Murphy; the joys and tortures of campaigning for president; and even the Fort Lee lane-closing controversy that marred his second term.
On policy areas in which he disagrees with Trump, Christie said, “On immigration, I would take a different stance. I believe in border security and (at the same time) I’ve always believed this is a country of immigrants. We have welcomed people from all over the world in a way that makes them feel they are, and allows them to become, citizens. … We can fix our broken immigration system in a way that is positive and not divisive and not focused on a wall.”
In contrasting his governing style with that of Murphy, he said a New Jersey governor can’t succeed without forging an alliance with the Senate president. Christie said Kean gave the following advice: “‘Your new best friend is (Senate President) Steve Sweeney. You’re gonna do everything in your power, use every bit of charm you have … to make him your partner.’”
Christie, who ran for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination before withdrawing and endorsing Trump, described running for president as “so big and so small at the same time.” On one hand, it is “absolutely overwhelming and one of the most amazing opportunities that any American could have.” On the other, it involves “retail politics” that rival those of a small-town election as candidates run a marathon of one-on-one meetings to win over individual voters and party leaders in Iowa and New Hampshire.
In discussing the challenges ahead for the Garden State he said, “I still feel a responsibility for New Jersey. As a kid from Livingston, becoming the governor was the defining moment of my life.” He noted that he was so outspoken because “I didn’t want to be anonymous, I didn’t want to hide. I didn't want to run away. I didn't want to make excuses. I wasn't going to let the people forget the responsibility I knew I was taking on.”