New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie strongly denied former congressmen Patrick Kennedy's version of events on Twitter, saying Trump was committed to addressing the drug crisis. Christie denies saying failure on opioids would be 'debilitating' for Trump

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Monday denied that he had told a former congressman that a failure to deliver on remedying the opioid crisis would deal a "debilitating blow" to Donald Trump's presidency, refuting the ex-lawmaker's statements in a Washington Post report.

"The comments attributed to me today in WaPo by Congressman Kennedy are false. I speak for myself on this issue," Christie said in a series of tweets in response to a report citing former congressmen Patrick Kennedy, a member of Trump's Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis.


The newspaper reported that Kennedy said Christie, who chairs the commission, had privately told him Trump's presidency would be "over" if "he doesn't recognize this as the issue of our time."

The New Jersey governor strongly denied Kennedy's version of events on Twitter, saying Trump was committed to addressing the drug crisis.

"Let me be very clear. I know that POTUS supports fighting this epidemic aggressively. In the days ahead, his actions will speak louder than anything else," Christie wrote.

Playbook PM Sign up for our must-read newsletter on what's driving the afternoon in Washington. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Trump in August announced his intent to name the opioid crisis a "national emergency," though he has not done it yet. The declaration, initially recommended by the Christie-led commission, would allow the federal government to free up funds to tackle the issue.

The Trump administration's efforts to battle the opioid crisis were put under the microscope after a report that Rep. Tom Marino, the president's pick to be the nation's leading drug enforcer, championed a law that critics said hindered the federal government's ability to combat the spread of opioids. Marino withdrew from consideration for the role.

