Is Christie being trumped as 'tell it like it is' candidate?
The Republican presidential candidate responds exclusively on 'Fox News Sunday'
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie continues to come under fire for suggesting this weekend that the federal government could solve much of the problem of illegal immigration to the U.S. by adopting the tracking methods employed by parcel delivery company, Federal Express.
The presidential contender went on Fox News Sunday and defended his comment, made at a New Hampshire campaign stop on Saturday.
“If FedEx can do it, why can’t we use the same technology?” the Republican presidential hopeful asked host Chris Wallace.
On Saturday in Laconia, N.H., Christie told a campaign crowd, “At any moment, FedEx can tell you where that package is. It’s on the truck; it’s at the station; it’s on the airplane. Yet we let people come to this country with visas, and the minute they come in, we lose track of them.”
Christie’s proposal drew sharp criticism over the weekend from many who say it is unconstitutional and would violate the rights of many people who haven’t committed any crime.
Despite that, Wallace suggested that critics took issue with his comments because “people aren’t packages.”
“They’re not,” Christie answered. “My point was … here is a situation where the private sector laps us [in the government] in the use of technology.”
During the same appearance Wallace pointed out that in Real Clear Politics’ latest agglomeration of national polls, Christie is running No. 11 out of 17 GOP contenders – a position that would leave him off the main event for the CNN/Reagan Library debate on Sept. 16.
He also noted that many political observers had expected the pugnacious Christie to play the role of the “in-your-face, larger-than-life candidate” that has been dominated by Donald Trump.
Perhaps in an effort to amp up the pugnaciousness, Christie closed his comments about his FedEx plan by snapping, “Of course I don’t mean people are packages, so let’s not be ridiculous.”
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