Republican presidential candidate and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie criticized politicians on both sides of the aisle for subscribing to the belief that “government is the answer” amid the hotly contested debate over what role parents should play in their children’s education.
“I think both sides suffer from this malady that somehow a governor understands better what should be available to a child than their own mother or father,” Christie said in an interview with USA Today.
“So, you know, my view on this is that when it goes beyond that, and in some instances it has, that’s a problem,” he added.
While Christie said he was “disgusted” with his Democratic successor’s administration for suing school boards in New Jersey over policies to notify parents when a child shows signs of changing gender identity, he suggested that there are parallels between the policies of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).
DeSantis, who is also running for the Republican nomination, has been a leading figure in the GOP’s parental rights push, signing laws restricting discussions of gender identity, sexual orientation and race in Florida classrooms.
Even though Murphy and DeSantis have two “totally different” perspectives on education, Christie said the two were similar in that they both “believe government is the answer.”
“I always thought that’s what liberals did … that’s what I was taught that liberals thought. ‘If you disagree, I can use the government to punish you and change your mind,’” Christie told USA Today. “Now, all of a sudden, that’s what conservatives or people who call themselves conservatives are doing.”
Christie has previously criticized DeSantis for going after Disney over the company’s opposition to his so-called “Don’t Say Gay” law, suggesting that the Florida governor’s efforts to punish a business are unconservative.
“I don’t think Ron DeSantis is a conservative based on his actions towards Disney,” Christie said in April.
“Where are we headed here now, that if you express disagreement in this country, the government is allowed to punish you? To me, that’s what I always thought liberals did,” he added at the time. “And now all of a sudden here we are participating in this with a Republican governor.”