New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Wednesday discussed global conflicts and pushed back on Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) accusation that he advocates sparking World War III.
“The problems for folks like Sen. Paul — they don’t realize we are already in World War III,” Christie said during an appearance on “CBS This Morning.”
{mosads}”The fact is this is a new world war and one that won’t look like the last two. This is one where radical Islamist jihadists everyday are trying to kill Americans and disrupt and destroy our way of life,” he added.
The two presidential candidates sparred in the fifth GOP debate in Las Vegas Tuesday night after Christie said he would establish a no-fly zone over Syria and shoot down Russian planes if they violated it. Paul said Christie was the World War III candidate.
“My goodness, what we want in a leader is someone with judgment, not someone who is so reckless as to stand on the stage and say, ‘Yes, I’m jumping up and down; I’m going to shoot down Russian planes,'” Paul said.
Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) also contended that “we have entered World War III” during the undercard debate Tuesday night for low-polling candidates.
Christie has leaned into his experience as a former federal prosecutor following the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif., in a bid to keep up momentum in the early-voting state of New Hampshire.