NEVADA, IOWA – New Jersey Governor Chris Christie criticized President Barack Obama for failing to take the threat of ISIS seriously, at a scheduled Chili Supper in Story County, Iowa, this evening.
The event opened with a moment of silence and prayer for the victims, but Christie wasted no time.
“This is a group that our president a short period of time ago called the J.V.,” Christie said, reminding his audience of Obama’s Jan. 2014 dismissal of ISIS’s power.
Christie also spoke at length about the threat of terrorism in America, recalled the 9/11 attack, and explained why he debates the balance of surveillance and civil liberties with Sen. Rand Paul.
“You’ve seen me have these arguments onstage – in a debate with Sen. Paul,” he said, repeating his story about where he was on September 11, being uncertain of whether his wife, who worked near the World Trade Center, was safe.
“See, for guys like Senator Paul, this is all theoretical in some subcommittee in Washington D.C. where they get to blow hot air and talk theories,” he said.
As a former prosecutor, he said he knew what it takes to keep the United States safe from further attacks, and reminding the audience that terrorism “wasn’t a theory” in his experience.
“We need to get all the information we can, as quickly as we can, and we need to get that information before they act,” he said. “We can do that without violating anybody’s civil liberties.”