Christie: Trump 'not racist,' has 'right' to express opinions on judge

Donald Trump has the “right” to express his opinion about the U.S. federal judge presiding over Trump University lawsuits, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie asserted Tuesday, defending the presumptive Republican nominee from criticism after he remarked that Judge Gonzalo Curiel would not be fair to him because of his Mexican heritage.

“In the end, there are always going to be conflicts regarding civil lawsuits,” Christie told reporters in Mendham Township, New Jersey. “There are always going to be opinions. Those are Donald’s opinions. And he has the right to express them, the same way anybody else has the right to express their views regarding how they’re treated in the civil or criminal courts in this country. That’s part of what free speech is about.”


Christie said it “kind of bothers” him that the other side is reacting the way it is, particularly Hillary Clinton, who he said is “taking this kind of high and mighty position of hers when Secretary Clinton’s had a lot to say over the course of her career as well regarding vast right-wing conspiracies that turned out not to exist in impugning the integrity of lots of other people.

“Let’s focus on what needs to be focused on here, and quite frankly, I think you all are paying much too much attention on this,” Christie said, chastising reporters asking him repeated questions about the man he endorsed after dropping out of the race in February.

“The fact is, the media loves controversy, the media loves to pay attention to this stuff and to work it up,” Christie said. “I understand why. I’ve lived with that over the course of time, too, but the fact of the matter is people who are going to vote today in New Jersey and people who are going to vote in November are not going to make their decisions based on this kerfuffle.”

Christie differentiated Trump’s criticism from his nomination of Superior Court Judge Sohail Mohammed in 2011 after he faced attacks that Mohammed, a Muslim, would enforce Islamic sharia law.

“Those were very specific things about someone that I knew personally, and when I have something to say about it, I’ll say it,” Christie said, declining to comment further on the circumstances of the Trump University case or Curiel in particular.

Christie, who told the reporters that he had just voted for Trump in New Jersey’s primary election, said Trump “is not a racist” and “allegations that he is are absolutely contrary to every experience that I’ve had with him over the last 14 years.”

Asked by a reporter whether Trump could learn anything from him about speaking his mind without offending people, Christie commented, “It’s fascinating now that I’m the person who can speak my mind without offending anybody. You know, 12 months ago all of you were asking me if I was going to change my manner in order to avoid offending people.

“Listen, Donald Trump is my friend, and to the extent, and I’ve made this statement many times before, to the extent that I can help him be a better candidate and ultimately be a better president, then I’m happy to help him in that regard, because he’s my friend and now he’s the nominee of my party,” Christie continued. “But whether he can learn anything or not, only time will tell about that. “And I’m certainly not conceited enough to think that the guy who beat me in the race, I’m going to teach anything to.”