Announcing his endorsement of Mitt Romney in a press conference in New Hampshire this afternoon, Chris Christie described the endorsement as an “easy decision.”
Citing Romney’s experience as an executive in both the political and private sectors, Christie emphasized the need for a candidate who was ready to assume office and could beat President Obama in the general election.
“The biggest reason why I want to support Gov. Romney is because I believe he’s the best person to be able to articulate Republican values and defeat Barack Obama in November of 2012,” Christie said, mentioning Romney’s detailed jobs plan and template for replacing Obamacare.
“People who run for president of the United States because they think in their minds, ‘I think I can win, I hope I’m ready,’ – which is what the president of the United States did four years ago – are acting irresponsibly,” Christie added. “Mitt Romney says, ‘I hope I can win, I know I’m ready.’ That’s the big difference. That’s what the American people will see this November, and that’s why they’re going to elect him president of the United States.”
Speaking about Romney’s Massachusetts health-care program, Christie said it was “completely intellectually dishonest” to compare it to Obamacare.
“Gov. Romney did not raise one tax in doing what he did in trying to improve the health-care system in Massachusetts,” Christie said. “I will tell you, that I’m proud of him for standing up for doing what he believes is right.”
“The president of the United States is raising taxes over and over again to pay for this plan he still won’t pay for. What Gov. Romney did was what he believed was responsible as governor of Massachusetts to allow people to have access to health care. All the governors should have that opportunity to make that judgment on their own,” continued Christie, who emphasized that he believed each state should be allowed to put forward their own health-care solutions.