Chris Christie: For All The Marbles 47:26

The Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer's is fighting for a different future. This is near and dear to us, right, Albert? Yes. My father recently passed away from Alzheimer's after a long, long battle, and we wished that he would have gone for testing way earlier on, and early testing definitely will help. Walk side by side with your family, your friends, your neighbors, your co-workers in the world's largest fundraiser to fight the disease. We're closer than ever to stopping Alzheimer's.

But to get there, we need you. There's a walk in your community. Find yours at alz.org slash walk.

Guys, you know how I shared my lip lining trick on Instagram? Well, Thrive Cosmetics has a new Empower Matte Precision Lipstick Crayon and I can't wait to try it. It's a two-in-one lipstick and liner and I think I'm gonna love it. You can take their lip style quiz and find your perfect shade. Mine is Jessie. It's waterproof, sweatproof, and lasts up to 12 hours. Refresh your everyday look with

Thrive Cosmetics, beauty that gives back. Right now, you can get an exclusive 10% off your first order at thrivecosmetics.com slash off camera. That's Thrive Cosmetics, C-A-U-S-E-M-E-T-I-C-S dot com slash off camera for 10% off your first order.

you've got to make your case against the guy who's in front or else you're going to be behind that person the entire time. That's right. And I have no interest in coming in second here. I want to win. Somebody got to cue me or do I cue myself? Cue yourself. Okay. Everyone, we are back with another episode of Let's Talk Off Camera. So let's get talking. Get ready to get smarter. Get ready to be informed.

I know this man, and I'm proud that he's here on our podcast. He's the former federal prosecutor who served as the governor of New Jersey, the greatest state on earth, Jan Chalet. I live there now. From 2010 to 2018, he's an author. He's a husband. He's a father. He's a huge Springsteen fan. You know that. Yeah.

Oh, and did I fail to mention he's also a candidate for president of the United States on this year Humble podcast. Wow. Please welcome former governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie. All right. Thank you, Kelly. Great to be here.

Governor Christie, full disclosure, we know each other a little bit. We do. We actually hobnobbed in the Bahamas together once. Yes, we did. We did. One of the highlights of my life. Mine too. And I believe the Eagles won the Super Bowl, as a matter of fact, that very weekend. They did.

Now, was that painful for you or were you okay with that? I was okay with it. Like once the Cowboys are out, like all my pain is reserved for that. And then I don't really hate anybody else. I just love the Cowboys. So I was fine with it. And it made a number of my friends

We're big Eagles fans. Very happy. So that's right. We're happy for them. Good answer. That is a very beat the Patriots too, which made it sweeter. It's still okay to hate the Patriots. Isn't that right? Well, yes. And to hate Bill Belichick in particular. Yes, of course. And are you following all of this Taylor Swift NFL, Travis, Kelsey, Kelsey, I keep calling him Kaliche because everybody's Italian in my head.

Are you following that drama? I am because I have two daughters. So I have to follow all Taylor Swift or else I become an even less cool father. Governor, are you a Swifty?

I am not. I can't qualify for Swifties status. I just paid for them to be Swifties. I understand. That's my job. I keep getting them tickets to these shows. That's expensive. That is very expensive. Now, are you filing your tax returns? Because I hear that Taylor Swift ticket holders have to file a special tax return if they resell their tickets and make a profit. Oh, wow.

No, no. I'm one of the people who created profit for the reason. Got it. I like it. Okay, here's my shirt. Ready? I want to know how many times have you been to Action Park as a kid growing up? Oh my gosh. At least two dozen times. Yeah. Right. Correct. I was trying to explain to my kids when we watched the documentary. I don't know if you saw it. Class Action Park. I did.

My kids were like, is it really that bad? And I go, oh, it was much worse. It was. And the characters that we used to see there too, Kelly, were quite something. Of course. I mean, and I remember my, I think we got a block of tickets from our church, part of the church. And I think it was like $5 for an entire summer pass. And when my friend Scotty Silber and I said to our parents, but it's dangerous and everybody there seems dangerous.

deadly my parents said we paid five dollars for those tickets you get yourself on that bus and you get your rent on that bus and you get up there and have fun exactly i spent five dollars and you better you better get on that bus my my mother used to drive my brother and i up there and drop us off

Like just the two of us. And we were young. And just drop us off. And she'd come back at like six o'clock at night. Like, all right, be out front at six. Great. Don't you feel like because we were part of the great, like sort of unsupervised generation that we are way more resilient? Totally. Totally.

Totally more resilient and like are used to failure and loss and all that stuff. And knowing that it's all temporary, right? You know, kids now, and now I really sound old now, like,

Everybody gets a trophy, Kelly. We are a very anti-participation trophy. Yeah, we hate it. My parents don't understand that I did not, you know, discipline my children the way I was disciplined and I had to explain to them I would have my children taken away.

That's right. My mother used to say, if it was good enough for you, it's good enough for them. I'm like, eh, well, we'll take a pass on that. Okay, so let's get into you now. I read that you were really, really close with your grandmother. I lived in a house with my parents and my grandparents and my great-grandmother. So I know about generational living and what that is like. Tell me about your relationship with your grandmother.

My grandmother, this is my mom's mom, who we called Nanny. And she was an amazing woman, Kelly. She divorced my grandfather. Oh, my gosh. In 1941. What? Because he was having an affair on her.

And she found out. Now, you know, back in those days, an Italian wife. Yes. The husband was like, he had a regular hall pass, right? That's right. Do whatever he wants. Not with my grandmother. She booted him out.

And back in those days, like no child support. Right. You said you boot me out. You take care of everything on your own. Right. And so I had this amazing grandmother who used to she went got a job at the Internal Revenue Service. She's take three buses from Newark to Bloomfield to go and work every day and come home at night and take care of her three children. So I used to go to her apartment in West Orange often on the weekends.

And what it would entail would be I would have to bring a book that I would read with her and she would have a book as well. We'd read. I got to watch one college football game, just one. OK. On a Saturday, Sunday morning, we went to church and we had to walk to church and walk back. And when we got back, we'd go to eight o'clock mass so that we could watch meet the press together.

Oh my gosh. Incredible. She was the person who got me interested in politics. Nobody else in my family interested in it, cared about it, involved in it in any way. And it was my grandmother. And by the way, unlike most Italian women,

a truly horrific cook. It happens. It happens. I'm not going to say where I inherited my lack of cooking skills from, but let's just say my dad only gains weight when he goes to work. That's why he hasn't retired yet. That's great. Yes. Well, that sounds like that's the way my grandmother was. So it was not, it was not incredibly inviting to go down there for the meals, but she was just

a fun and fascinating person. She passed away right before I became U.S. attorney in 2001. Oh, it's sad. I'm sorry she didn't see it. She didn't see it, but it was interesting. I went to her apartment to help my mom kind of straighten up her belongings. We went into her closet. It had to be 10 shoeboxes

filled with letters that she had gotten from her members of Congress who had represented her. Every time she was upset about something, she'd write them a letter about it and they would write her back. And she had, it was eight to 10 shoe boxes full of these letters that none of us ever knew about.

Incredible. So she's where you got your backbone. She's where you got your sense of right versus wrong. And she's where you got your activism from. Totally. Yep. She's the one. And she's a pretty incredible lady. She lived until she was 92 years old. So she had a great life. Never remarried.

I don't blame her. That's probably why she lived to 92. It probably is. She didn't have to worry about carrying some albatross around her neck for most of her life. So she was just a real renaissance woman in so many ways. And also, as you might imagine, took no guff. And the best story I could tell about my grandmother, about what she was like,

was when we would go to church, she would say to me, you know, if there's something that you're troubled by, you're having a problem with, go and light a candle. I'll give you a dollar.

and pray to God for guidance on how to deal with your problem. So I don't remember what the particular problem this week was, Kelly, but I went and prayed about a problem and I didn't feel like I got any answers from God. So the next week we were walking to church and she said to me, do you want a dollar to light a candle? I said, no, because it doesn't work. I was 10 years old. Yeah, right. I said, it doesn't work. And she goes, what do you mean it doesn't work? I said, I pray like you told me to, Nan.

And God didn't answer my prayers. And she stopped me. We were walking down the street. She grabbed my arm and stopped me. She goes, I want you to understand something. God answers every one of your prayers. Sometimes the answer is no.

Let me write that down. Albert, write that down for me. That's a good one. That is a genius line. You know, there's this really interesting meme that your drag name, your drag name, is your grandmother's name, so Nani, and the last dessert you ate. Do you recall the last dessert you ate?

You blueberry cobbler. Nanny blueberry cobbler. Oh, that's a good one. I think that's a terrible drag name. Why? It could just be cobbler, nanny. Just nanny cobbler. That's better. That's better. Nanny cobbler. You can take away the blueberry. That's probably better. Nanny bee cobbler. Nanny bee cobbler. Yes, exactly. What do you think that she would think of you wearing

running for president. What would she say to you right now? Oh, man, she would be thrilled and she would be giving me advice regularly. Like she'd be on the phone calling me and she'd be critiquing my town hall meetings or she would critique this podcast. She would take notes.

And she would then get me on the phone and read from her notes. Yes. She was a very detailed woman. So I think she would have been thrilled. And she also was very thick skinned. So I think all the stuff that would happen...

Would have rolled off her back. My mother, on the other hand, who passed away 19 years ago, she she was very thin skinned. And I'm I'm actually as much as I miss her. You're really here. Yeah, I'm relieved. She would not be dealing with all this very well. Well, because because as parents, you know this, you can say whatever you want about

us the parents but if you say a word about my children i will come after you i will seek you out and try to my best to harm you god forgive me nanny i if you're listening no it's it's i think that's perfectly permissible and in fact it's an asset not a liability but yes my mother would when i was u.s attorney my mother was alive for a little of the time a couple years when i was u.s attorney and there was some story in the paper that she didn't like

And she called me and she said, did you see this story in the Star-Ledger? And I said, I did. And she said to me, well, listen to this. I said, is that a letter to the editor? And she said, yep, I'm writing a letter to the editor. I said, no, no, no, no. I said, I'm the youngest U.S. attorney in the country. I was 40 years old. I said, if my mommy starts writing letters to the newspaper, this is not going to help my career. So she says to me, wait a second. She said, just because you took some, and this was her word,

highfalutin job. Highfalutin job, yes. Does that mean I gave away my First Amendment rights? And I said, in fact, yes, it does. Yes, yes, it does. In this instance, I beg of you, yes. First Amendment suspended for you writing as my mommy to the newspaper. I admire that. I would have taken that same task. You can't have that. You can't have your parents fighting your battles. Yes. My dad routinely has his head pop open

off of his body and I'm like dad calm down he's okay don't it's like don't don't give it any time yes I can only imagine yes the moments he has had of course he's had many so okay you're running for president

You tried it in 2016. You were the man that broke Marco Rubio. Literally broke him beyond repair in front of all of us. Yes. And I still have this fantasy in my mind. Now, go with me. Marco Rubio was starting to gain ground on then-candidate Donald Trump. He was gaining ground. Now, I suspect that you knew that you could break Marco Rubio whenever you wanted. Yes.

Do you feel like you broke him too soon too early? Well, it wasn't too early for me because the New Hampshire election was like in four days So make or break for me. I got so so you know when you had to break him You know, I busted him up when I had to bust them up Do you think he'll ever recover because I don't I don't I don't think he will I

Well, I don't know that he'll ever run for president again. But, you know, he's still in the United States Senate. For him, that's not a bad gig. Yeah. Well, I mean, yeah. We wouldn't want to be in the United States Senate. No, I don't have the patience for any of it.

No. And one of a hundred? Please. Not one of a hundred. I'd rather jump off the building. But honestly, though, it seems like running for president of the United States is like the most miserable job. Why? Why are you doing this to yourself? And then I want to get your Mary Pat's take and the kids take. So start with why. Because I'm really scared about where our country is right now. And I had no intention of doing this again.

And about a year ago, as I started to see the field come together and Donald Trump running again, and, you know, Mary Pat and I both started to talk about the fact that it didn't look like anybody was going to take him on directly and make the case against him.

And I'm a prosecutor and I know how to make the case against people. And I felt like I was called to do it. And I don't mean called by God. I mean called by what I know my skills and abilities are and my love for my country and

And by the way, I've always wanted to be president. You know, I ran the first time because I wanted to be. So, you know, you want to be president and you feel like it's there's a moment here where you have to say something that's really important to the country. And so that's why I decided to do it. What do your kids think? Split decision among the children. We have two boys and two girls, 30, 27, 23 and 20.

So the boys are 30 and 23. The oldest boy is completely into it, thinks it's great. My 23-year-old son, who just graduated from college back in the spring, also very excited about it, thinks it's a great idea. My 27-year-old daughter, who lives in Chicago...

uh much less enthused about the whole thing she's she's like you're saying all these things about trump trump has all these rabid supporters i'm worried someone's going to try to hurt you so that's her her worry is that someone will try to physically harm me because of the things that i'm saying much different my 20 year old daughter who's a junior at notre dame um she's like let me ask you a question

If you start to do really well, do you get Secret Service? And I said, yes. And she goes, does that mean I have to have it? And I said, yes. And she said, well, I don't want this then. I go to college and I don't need to have Secret Service agents following me around. So...

very committed to her nation and called to a higher calling. I think that higher calling is fake ID to get into a property. Right, exactly. She doesn't need the Secret Service interfering with the fake ID stuff. I know how important that is. I have three kids. Yeah, I mean, right? So you know what I'm saying. Now, none of them told me don't do it, but the girls were a bit reluctant. The boys were kind of gung-ho about it. So, you know,

When I watch the television punditry, I watch everything. I like to cover my bases. I like to be in the know. The smart people in politics really, really believe that you are the most appealing Republican candidate. And I also, not just because you're from New Jersey, but I also think that you are probably the only person that could be

take Trump on and actually get your points across because he likes to, I always say he likes to speak the way my daughter likes to text, rapid fire, you know, bullet points, almost like a real housewife. I don't know if you've ever seen "The Real Housewives." - Yes. - It's like one big confessional. And I feel like you know how to take that on because again, you're from New Jersey, it's kind of how we speak.

It's we have a shorthand and we're not afraid to get in the mix if we have to. Do you think that he's afraid to debate you? Yes. And do you think you're the sole reason he's not showing up for these debates? I think there's two reasons. I think one, his legal problems. I think his lawyers are telling him all the time, please keep quiet. You're just making matters worse.

And then it's me being on the stage. There's nobody else on that stage he's worried about or concerned about. And by the way, it's not just because of my, of, of, of, you know, what I did to Marco Rubio, you know, I helped prepare him for the debates in 2016. I played Hillary Clinton and in 2020 I took a sedative and I played Joe Biden. And, you know, we, you know, he even sedated, I was beating him up pretty good. So he's seen it. Um,

and knows it personally, and he doesn't want any piece of me. So he knows that you...

know how his brain operates. Yes, I do know how the brain operates. Yes. And I know how he makes his arguments. And there was one time we had a back and forth during debate prep in 2020 where I whacked him pretty good. And he turned to Hope Hicks, who was one of his communications people, and said, hey, Hope, how lucky we were not debating Chris. Because if we were debating Chris, we'd be in trouble. But, you know, look, that's why I think he's definitely afraid. He's a coward. It is like any of these bullies.

Right. They're all tough until someone comes out there and is willing to put their hands up and say, all right, let's go. And then all of a sudden they've got a million excuses.

You know, with him, I think it was bad heels. Heel spurs, wasn't it? That's why he missed the army. He missed Vietnam because of the heel spurs. The media hasn't learned its lesson in the way they cover Trump, I don't think. And I feel like the media has a lot to do with how politicians are elected. And they are loathe to learn from the lessons of covering Trump like he's a normal political figure, right?

And do you find it, though, frustrating that you have this relatively low support within the Republican Party? Or do you think it's just a matter of chipping away and once the dam cracks, it will all flow? I think it's patience and persistence on this because of the dynamic you just talked about. I think you read it perfectly right. The media props him up. They give him the attention he craves.

And that attention is the oxygen that allows him to keep a lot of these folks in his corner. If they really thought if they acted and covered him in a way that you would actually cover someone who is as irresponsible as he is and as they believe he is.

I think he'd be in much worse political shape than he is right now. But I kind of analogize it to this. He's like a building that has a good-looking facade, but it's rotted all on the inside. And all you have to do is break through that facade once, which is what I intend to do in New Hampshire. And if you break that facade once, I think the whole building is going to collapse because I think there's a lot of people who support him because they think he's inevitable. But once they know he's not inevitable, then they'll feel free to go somewhere else.

Why do you think like I think it was the first Republican debate where you were asked a question about aliens? Yeah. And and I thought to myself, is this what's on the American voters minds? Don't get me wrong. I like outer space as much as the next person, but it is not top of mind.

And then I watched the second debate and it was like a shouting storm and a lot of people just sort of talking over one another the entire time. But why weren't there any questions asked about Donald Trump and his, I've lost count of the indictments, 91 felony counts or something? Why wasn't anybody bringing up the fact that he sort of,

casually put out there that Mark Milley should somehow be executed. Executed, yes. For treason. For treason. Like, why weren't those the top debate questions? I was stunned that they didn't ask about Mark Milley. Stunned. And look, you know, I think they think they're doing a good thing

By not asking about Trump. And I think it's exactly the wrong thing to do. The first debate, there was one question about Trump. And I think it was the most enlightening moment of the entire debate when they asked, raise your hand if you'll support him, even if he's convicted of felonies. And six people on that stage raised their hands and I didn't.

And you remember I got booed. Yeah, I know. I'm not raising my hands. Let me tell you something. I know where I was standing. I was standing in my bathroom. Mark and I had to go out. Yes, we watched TV in the bathroom. That's where the TV is. And we were standing in front of the television watching this. And we both said, Chris Christie didn't put his hand up. You know, it was like, of course you didn't. But what is it? Is it fear based? What is it?

I think for some of them, they're afraid of him. And I think for some of them, they're running, believing that Trump will either legally or physically get knocked out of the race. And that then if they haven't said anything bad about him, that they think they can inherit then his supporters.

I think that's not a way to run for president. Like you got to run to beat somebody and hoping he goes to jail or hoping he kills over, you know, is not a strategy. And so I think some of them are trying to play that game of saying, let me be your second choice just in case things go sideways for Trump. And some of them are just flat out afraid of taking him on because they feel like it'll hurt them. And look, when I take him on, it hurts me with some people.

But you know who it hurts me with, Kelly? The people who are already voting for him anyway. I feel like they're not going to vote for anybody but him. So if he's not in it, they're not voting. So they're courting a potential voting base that I think would be reluctant to vote for anybody else.

I think with some of them, you know, the likelihood of them voting for someone else is vastly diminished. And the only thing that would motivate them was that they just disliked Joe Biden so much that that might motivate them. But I think you're right. For a good number of folks who are in that part of the party, they didn't vote.

Republican before Trump. And they probably won't vote Republican again after Trump. I think that some of them are people who will vote for whoever the Republican candidate is, but

I don't think you win the primary that way, Kelly. You know, you've got to make your case against the guy who's in front or else you're going to be behind that person the entire time. That's right. And I have no interest in coming in second here. I want to win. So if you're elected president, what is our as citizens? What should be the number one thing we are worried about at the top of your list as president?

You've heard all the buzz about micro laser fat removal at Sono Bello, right? It's remarkable how in just one visit, your stubborn fat is gone permanently. Once a year, Sono Bello invites listeners to their exclusive summer savings event featuring their best pricing of the year for a limited time only. A

Appointments are limited, so you need to hurry. Sonobello doctors are masters in micro laser fat removal using a brilliant technique that removes stubborn fat permanently wherever your problem areas are. Tummy, sides, thighs, arms, or even saggy loose skin. Chan!

It's gone in one comfortable visit. Jan! We're signing up. We are signing up. You didn't tell me about the saggy loose skin. We may be halfway through the summer, but there's still time for a full body reset. And with the CareCredit credit card, you'll enjoy flexible financing and convenient monthly payments. Subject to credit approval. See website for details. Visit sonobello.com slash summer. That's sonobello, B-E-L-L-O dot com slash summer.

Are you the type of person that feels like you waste hours a week searching grocery aisles for the freshest fruits, veggies, and meats, but yet you're still left disappointed? Then you must try Fresh Direct. Fresh Direct is a farm-to-kitchen food source directly from farmers, fishermen, and ranchers and delivered straight to your door.

And the convenience is unbeatable. You can grocery shop from your office or couch anytime you want. I order all the time because of the convenience of it being delivered right to my door. They also have amazing prepared foods when I'm in a time crunch.

I'm currently obsessed with their harvest vegetables and goat cheese salad. It's my go-to for a quick and delicious lunch. For over 20 years, Fresh Direct has been delivering the freshest fruits, vegetables, and meats to the tri-state area. Don't take my word for it. Try it to believe it with $50 off your first order. Go to freshdirect.com and use code OFFCAMERA. That's freshdirect.com, code OFFCAMERA.

off-camera for new customers to save $50 on their first order. Terms and restrictions apply. Seaside for details. Shifting your wardrobe from summer to fall is always a challenge. Good thing Quince offers timeless, high-quality items you'll adore and will ensure your wardrobe stays fresh without blowing your budget, like their cashmere sweaters, washable silk tops, amazing leather products, and so much more. And the best part?

All Quince items are priced 50 to 80% less than similar brands. I just love how easy it is to shop. Their website is so convenient to navigate. They have everything from clothing to accessories to travel items and even home goods. And don't forget, they have a baby and kid section too. It's one-stop shopping from my laptop.

Make switching seasons a breeze with Quince high-quality closet essentials. Go to quince.com slash off-camera for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E dot com slash off-camera to get free shipping and 365-day returns. quince.com slash off-camera.

So if you're elected president, what is our as citizens, what should be the number one thing we are worried about at the top of your list as president? I think we have to restore law and order in this country at every level from the violent crime that's happening in our streets of so many of our cities.

to political folks who are acting like Donald Trump, as if once you get elected to office, you can do anything you want to do, and everybody in between. And I think we're seeing so much breakdown in our society right now because we don't have people following the law, and the people who are supposed to impose order, whether it's parents or police or other security folks, they're all being diminished.

And we need to raise those people up again, not only the people in law enforcement, but we're diminishing parents and parents' roles in life. And Republicans are doing that almost as much as Democrats. You've got Republicans out there saying they should be able to make decisions about what goes on in people's families. I don't think any governor is in a better position than I am to make decisions about my children and their health.

And what's best for them. And I always thought Republicans were the ones who wanted to stay out of that stuff. But apparently there are some Republicans like Ron DeSantis who thinks he knows better than me or you for our children. And let's say, let's leap forward. You're president of the United States. Do you have the power, the ability to sort of get control of your party? Because it seems like nobody has control of the Republican Party right now.

Most people listen to a strong president inside their party. The old saying is, you know, the president writes the hymnal and the rest of the party sings in the choir. And that's not going to be universal, especially in today's politics. But I do think, and I found this when I was governor, if you're a strong personality, you have definite views, you're willing to stand up and be counted. You know, most of the people inside your party will follow you. Not all of them, but most of them. And as president, I think that's what would happen here because you're

you know, you watched me in New Jersey. No one's going to have to wonder where I stand on an issue. They may not agree with it, but they're not going to have to try to guess as to what I'm thinking. Transparency creates comfort. And a lot of times people in politics don't understand that. You know, I just have watched you for a long time. I feel that you are very much a bipartisan player and I feel that you are a,

a centrist. May I call you a centrist? I'm a very practical guy. I mean, look, I'm conservative, but I think I'm right of center. I'm practical. My job in public office is to try to get things done, get things accomplished. You know, you see a whole bunch of people who they only want to live on those far extremes and don't understand that in a country like this, you need to bring people together and

You know, look, that's what I did in New Jersey. And I, you know, how many Democrats worked incredibly closely with me. And the reason they did is because they knew they could trust me. If I gave my word on something, I would do it.

And I think we don't have that anymore at all either. And, you know, then it just makes the system even worse. So if it comes like if it comes down to it, for whatever reason, you're not the Republican nominee. And again, I don't like I'm one of these people. I don't pay attention to polls. I mean, I voted for Hillary. So and, you know, Hillary voters on the exit polls were very comfortable when everybody started counting the votes. You know, they were. So if you're not the nominee, you're

Who do you like as the nominee? Let's just take yourself out of it. Well, you know, I have respect for

for most of the people that I'm on the stage with right now. So, like, Doug Burgum, the governor of North Dakota, and I don't think Doug has any real chance to win, but if Doug were the nominee, he's a really good governor, smart guy, built his own business, and then went and became governor for two terms. Really good guy. I like Nikki Haley. We've always gotten along really well. We were governors together for...

all but one year of my entire term, she was governor of South Carolina. I like her a lot. I liked him, Scott, a great deal. And I think he'd be, you know, he'd be a good leader.

And even though I think Mike Pence messed himself up being with Trump and hasn't fully recovered from that, I know from watching him when he was governor of Indiana that this is a guy with a good heart. And I believe Mike's got a good heart. So I'd prefer any of those guys to, you know, certainly to Trump and to Biden as well. But if it came down to, I can't believe I'm going to say this, let's say it's Trump versus Biden.

Who are you, Chris Christie, casting your vote for? I'm not voting. You're not voting? No. You're not voting? I'll vote down ticket, but I won't vote for president. You would not vote for Joe Biden? I can't. You can't? No. What has Joe Biden done that you find so grieving that he wouldn't win over your vote? Gotten really, really old. He's too old for the job, Kelly. He can barely walk to the podium.

He has a tough time putting four or five sentences together in a row that makes sense. He has a hard time remembering things. I mean, look, Father Time is undefeated. It just grabs us all at different times and in different ways. And I've known him for 40 years. I met him when I was a student at the University of Delaware. And so I've known Joe Biden since the mid-1980s. And he used to be a powerfully articulate guy.

who could really give a speech and really make an argument. He's passed his sell-by date. But don't you think he gets a lot done? I mean, he's very much like you were in New Jersey. He gets a lot of bipartisan support. He gets a lot done. I feel like he's gotten more done in his administration than certainly that I can recall in my lifetime as a voter. Yeah, no, look, some of the stuff he's done I don't like. So that's part of the problem. What don't you like?

Look, the whole Inflation Reduction Act thing, all the spending, I think, has been out of control. Come on. Nobody spent more than Donald Trump. Nobody spent more. And I said that in the debate on Wednesday night, as you know. But Joe Biden's going to pass him. Joe's jealous.

Trump added a little over $7 trillion to the national debt, the worst performance of any president in four years. And Biden's at $5 trillion right now and counting. So it's a horse race. Who's going to add more to the debt? Think about this, Kelly. We're going to have somewhere around $35 trillion in debt in this country. And Joe Biden and Donald Trump will have accounted for

for more than a third of it themselves. But Donald Trump's outspent because he had four years. We're like right now, Joe Biden is at what? Half of what Trump? No, he's at 5 trillion. Trump was at a seven and a half trillion. Biden's going to catch him, Kelly. You watch. He's got another... We'll see. He's got another budget and a half to go. I bet you he catches him. But nonetheless, look...

I understand your argument about the thing that he's done that I, there's two things he's done that I agree with. One was the infrastructure bill. And I think that was a smart and good thing to do and overdue for our country.

And secondly, he's been much better on Ukraine than either Trump or Obama were. So I give him credit for both of those things. But you can't get away from it. I know it's an uncomfortable topic. But when we watch him on television, is that the guy who we think is

the best person we could put forward to negotiate with the Chinese to negotiate with the Iranians to negotiate with the rest of the folks in Europe our European allies I Just don't see it and I don't think he's got it anymore And I will tell you this if I were his son and I weren't making money off my father's name What I would do is go to and say dad. I

You did a great thing for the country. You beat Donald Trump. You took the presidency away from him. But it's time to go home. Time to go to the beach at Rehoboth Beach and enjoy the rest of your life. You've earned it. When did it occur to you that Donald Trump was...

a dangerous political figure. Election night 2020, when he came out into the East Room of the White House behind the seal of the president and said the election was stolen, when he had no factual basis to make that claim, and he's done it for two and a half years since. But that night,

I said to my, I was sitting on the set at ABC Kelly and I, while the speech was going on and I turned to George Stephanopoulos and I said, come to me right after the speech. And he said, why? And I said, I won't disappoint you. And he came to me and I, I just leveled Trump and said, this is it. I can't help him any longer when you're willing to undercut. Cause let's face it. A lot of Americans were sitting out there listening to that speech and

And they thought, well, he's the president of the United States. He must know something we don't know. When in fact, he knew nothing that we didn't know. If you go back in time, though, in 2016, before the election, before the ballots were cast, he preemptively said the election was rigged.

Because I think he assumed he was going to lose. So he preemptively said it was stolen. And leading up to the 2020 election, he said that it was rigged. So that's kind of like his go-to. And I get that. And I think the difference for me was that when you're saying that stuff before an election, you're not impugning the results of it. You're saying, I think this is what will happen. It's speculation. And I got to tell you the truth. I never thought

he would actually follow through to the extent that he has to continue to insist it was stolen when he's lost 60 court cases on it and has no evidence that he was. So to me, Kelly, I don't even know whether that was intellectual decision or an emotional one or both. But when I saw him standing behind the seal of the president in the East room and saying those things, I thought this is the most disgraceful thing I've ever seen a president do in public. Hmm.

And I just said, that's it. I'm done. So what's interesting to me is that, you know, you knew him before. I knew him before, you know, because I remember when he was an entertainer. What do you think has changed? Or do you think that's who he always was? And somehow he made it to the highest office in the land and the world?

I think it's yes to both. I think there were always these elements of him inside of him that for whatever reason he was able to control most of the time. But I think when he became president, the power was so intoxicating to him. The attention was so intoxicating to him that any of those guardrails that he used to keep on those emotions inside of him, he just took off.

and let everything come out of his mouth that was going through his brain. And I think that, you know, I've known every president personally since Bush 41. And I would say about all of them, about President Bush 41, President Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, that they were made better people by the presidency.

It humbled them. It made them understand their limits. It helped them to become aspirational in other ways. He's the only person of the presidents I've known where the presidency made him a worse person. He's a worse person today than he ever was before. And I believe it was the power that was given to him and how the media responded to him and how the public responded to him. He just doesn't know any other way to go and he's just going to keep doing it. I'll tell you where I was today.

When it was announced to the press, the public, that Donald Trump had COVID. It was my 50th birthday. So I was sat at home watching this breaking news across the television. And you, I believe...

You got COVID from him, don't you? Oh, I definitely did. You definitely did. Okay. So tell me about that conversation that you had with him because you were hospitalized. You got very, very sick from it. Yeah, I was in the ICU for seven days. And he called me on day two of my time in the ICU. And he was still at Walter Reed Hospital. He was still in the hospital. It sounded pretty bad.

And he said to me, so look, let me just ask you a question. You're not going to tell the press I gave it to you, are you? And I said, well, I don't know who gave it to me, Mr. President. So I wouldn't blame it on anybody. I said, I don't know who patient zero was because there were seven of us in the room counting him doing debate prep. Six of us got sick. So I said, I don't know who patient zero was, but it doesn't really matter. I'm sick. I just want to focus on getting better.

And he said, yeah, no, no, I know. I agree with you. But so you're not going to say that, right? And I said, no, I wouldn't say anything that wasn't true. He got off the phone right after that, Kelly. He could have cared less how I felt. He wanted to know that I was going to dime him out to the press. And the reason he was concerned about it, I couldn't understand at the time, but the reason he was concerned about it was because we found out

Over a year later, when Mark Meadows' book came out, that he had tested positive that morning, Saturday morning, the first morning of debate prep, he tested positive. We all tested negative or we couldn't have gotten in the West Wing. And he told us not to put masks on. And he knew he had COVID.

He knew. Tell me about the New Jersey in you in that moment. Like, what? Were you grateful that you were hospitalized in a bed? Because I think my instinct would be like, are you out of your mind? Don't you care that I could be dying?

Yeah, no, it was pretty clear to me after the phone call that he didn't care. Is that what flipped in your mind? Was that the, that was the flipping moment? No, like at that moment, like I just felt like it was a pretty callous thing to be talking about when we were both that sick. But I tried to discount it by saying, well, he's in the middle of a presidential campaign. So I guess you can never stop thinking about that. My anger came, Kelly, when the book came out. The book didn't come out for months.

12 to 15 months later. Right. And when he said that he tested positive that morning, and not only didn't he tell us, but Mark Meadows, his chief of staff, didn't tell us. Mark Meadows didn't say a word. And somebody should have said something. To all of us. And let us decide. Because remember, at that time, no treatments, no vaccine, nothing. Like,

You were at the whim of God as to whether you were going to live or die. I remember. I remember it well. It was a devastating time. Okay. So very quickly, before we get to the game, confirm or deny your ringtone on your cell phone is the Imperial March from Star Wars for Donald Trump. Confirm or deny.

Don't let the back-to-school season set back your nutrition. Green Chef is making it easy to stick to your healthy eating habits with a new, more flexible menu featuring over 35 customizable recipe options every week. And if you're in a time crunch, you'll also find over 15 weekly recipes that are ready in 25 minutes or less.

This weekend, I made their prosciutto and fresh mozzarella wraps and salad with pine nuts and balsamic glaze. Everything was delicious and took only 10 minutes to make. And now you can take your clean routine further with two times the support. Green Chef's healthiest menu ever and access to thousands of top-rated gyms and fitness studios worldwide from ClassPass. For a limited time, new Green Chef subscribers will also receive 50 free credits to use at

ClassPass, about a month's worth of membership. That's such a great deal. Go to greenchef.com slash off-camera class for 50% off your first box plus 50 free credits with ClassPass. That's code off-camera class at greenchef.com slash off-camera class to get 50% off your first box plus 50 free ClassPass credits.

Staying hydrated is so important. It helps me with my energy, my sleep, my skin, and my mood. Keep yourself hydrated and refreshed the way I do with Fiji water. Did you know that Fiji water really is from the islands of Fiji? It's true. Unlike some other top premium bottled waters, Fiji water is a very good water for your body.

Fiji Water's electrolytes are 100% naturally occurring. Visit your local retailer to pick up some today for your next backyard party, beach, or pool day, hike, or even your home office. It's not just water. It's Fiji Water.

Okay, confirm or deny, your ringtone on your cell phone is the Imperial March from Star Wars for Donald Trump. Confirm or deny? Deny. Come on. Come on. Stop it. It is for somebody else, but not for him. Come on. It is. It's not for him. Was it at any time for Donald Trump? No, I never had a ringtone for him. Come on. Not true. Come on. Look, hold on. I'm going to show you. What's he in your phone under?

Donald Trump. Donald Trump? Here, look. Okay. I see. Wait, did he call you recently? No, that's just in the list of names. Oh, in the list of names. Okay, so what's the last conversation you had with him?

First Sunday of December in 2020, he called me because I had said on ABC that Sunday that his legal team was a national embarrassment. And he called me in the car on the way back to Jersey to yell at me about it. And he said to me, why do you say things like that? I said, because they're true. And he started to laugh. He goes, yeah, you are true. They're pretty bad.

I mean, I know. Albert is like beside himself. Okay. Yeah. Okay, we're just going to end this with a quick game, okay? All right. And this game is for all the marbles. This game decides whether or not you will be the Republican nominee for president. Oh.

I'm going to sit up a little bit taller. Okay, sit up. So you're a big Bruce Springsteen fan, as we've already covered. You've been to over 150 concerts. Is that true? Yes, 153. Wow. Rumor has it that you know every lyric. So we're going to put you to a deep cut lyric challenge. All right, let's see if I can do this. This is from Drive All Night. I'm not going to sing because I have one of the worst voices. I'm going to speak the lyrics. Okay. Okay.

I swear I'd drive all night again just to... Buy you some shoes. Very good. And to taste your... Your tender kiss. Tender charms. Oh, tender charms. Nice. Oh, tender charms. All right. Albert was hooting. He threw you off. Close. Okay. From racing in the street. From racing in the street. Yeah. Tonight, tonight the strips... Just right. We're going to blow them off in our first heat.

And the time is right, baby, for racing in the streets. Wow, he gets bonus points. He gets all the marbles. Governor Christie, thank you so much for spending time with us. I know that you are very busy. You have bigger fish to fry. Good luck on the campaign trail. Thank you so much. Kelly, thank you for having me. It's great to see you. And maybe, you know, we could see each other in the Bahamas again. That would be

amazing. How about if I fly you and Mark there on Air Force One? That is, that's a deal. That's a deal. And make sure you don't forget if you are elected president, I'm sure this will be your first podcast stop. Oh, it will have to be. Okay, perfect. Listen, absolutely, screw Meet the Press. I'm up with you. You can do Meet the Press and then do this. You can do this from the car.

I want to do you first, though, Kelly. I don't want to do you first. You want to be able to say the first exclusive interview with the new president of the United States. Perfect. Thank you very much. Wow. Thank you. Jersey sticks together, Kelly. You got it. Thank you so much. And I love the T-shirt. Great choice. Thank you so much. Say hi to Joe Ripa. Yeah, say hi to Joe Ripa if you see my dad wandering around. Okay. Thanks so much, Governor Christie. Take care. It's great to talk to you, Kelly. Great to talk to you, too. Chris Christie, ladies and gentlemen. My goodness.

Well, what did you think of that, guys? I mean, I can't. First of all, you should host every debate. That's what I think. I don't have the temperament. You should host every debate. You're all worked up. I don't have the temperament. This would be me hosting a debate. Shut the fuck up. I don't know. Governor, go ahead. After that, I think you should host every debate.

Every political party, every everything. You know, I just, I have a soft spot for my hometown governor. My gosh. Yeah, I mean, that was epic. I can't believe he wouldn't vote, though. That kind of bothers me. That was the one thing that I'm like really stuck on. I'm stuck on it, too. Also, it's like Joe Biden.

Biden, he gets a lot of shit done and he doesn't get the credit for it. And it's because he's not out there like tooting his own horn. He's just getting shit done. By not voting for Joe, you're helping Trump. So if he really believes what he believes about Trump, by not voting for Biden, you're helping Trump. Right. Yeah, that's correct. Yes. Yeah. So if you like that podcast, I

And I suspect you did. You'll tell all your friends. Don't forget to join us next week for another episode of Let's Talk Off Camera. Bye, everyone. Let's Talk Off Camera with Kelly Ripa is a co-production of Melojo Productions and PRX Productions with help from Goat Rodeo. Our theme song is Follow Me from APM Music.

From Melojo, our team is Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos, Albert Bianchini, Jan Chalet, Devin Schneider, Michael Halpern, Jacob Small, Roz Therrien, Seth Gronquist, and Julia Desch. From PRX Productions, our team is Cara Schillen, Genevieve Sponsler, Megan Nadolski, Isabel Kirby McGowan,

Edwin Ochoa. Additional sound design by Terrence Bernardo. The executive producer of PRX Productions is Jocelyn Gonzalez. This show is powered by Stitcher. From PRX.

NetCredit is here to say yes to a personal loan or line of credit when other lenders say no. Apply in minutes and get a decision as soon as the same day. Loans offered by NetCredit or lending partner banks and serviced by NetCredit. Applications subject to review and approval. Learn more at netcredit.com slash partner. NetCredit. Credit to the people.

Everyone loves to share their skincare routine and the various products and serums they use and their exhaustive step-by-step process. But did you know that skincare can actually start in the laundry room? I'm partnering with our sponsor, All Free Clear Laundry Detergent, and tried it out. It's no surprise to me that All Free Clear is the number one laundry detergent brand recommended by dermatologists, allergists, and pediatricians

for sensitive skin. It provides an effective clean that's gentle on the skin while removing impurities like dirt and body oil without leaving irritating residues. For me, it's the best way to start my skincare routine. I also love that it's perfect to use for everyone in your household, from babies to those loved ones with sensitive skin or allergies to dyes. I suffer from seasonal allergies every

and All Free Clear removes 99% of everyday and seasonal allergens like dog and cat dander, dust mite matter, ragweed pollen, and grass tree pollen. All Free Clear is 100% free of dyes and perfumes. Plus, All Free Clear liquid is Safer Choice certified by the U.S. EPA. For a clean you can feel good about, all you need is All Free Clear. All Free Clear is not intended to treat or prevent allergies.