when their path to nominations
are effectively closed.
And to do it, by February 26th
of next year.
According to a recent quinnipiac
university poll Republican and
republican-leaning voters trump
is way ahead with 54%.
Desantis comes in at 25%.
Remaining candidates in the
single digits including new
Jersey governor Chris Christie
who told New Hampshire voters
last night he's not worried.
>> I will never be in front in
one poll in this race until
election night.
And then when election night
happens, and I win, all of a
sudden you're going to become
the smartest people in the
world.
And the momentum that new
Hampshire will give me will make
me the Republican nominee.
And I will guarantee you if I am
the Republican nominee, Joe
Biden doesn't stand a chance to
get re-elected.
>> Joining us now is former new
Jersey governor Chris Christie.
Governor, good morning.
Welcome to "CNN this morning."
We're so happy to have you.
Is Mitt Romney right?
>> Yeah.
Look, I don't disagree with
Mitt.
I think especially given the
date that he put on it.
I think there will be a lot of
narrowing, even before Iowa.
I think there will be narrowing
that will be created by the
debates and people's
performances in the debates that
starts the end of the month.
If you get through the first
four contests and haven't made
real progress and look like the
person that's ready to take on
whoever the front-runner is at
the time whether it's Donald
Trump or somebody else, well
then it makes sense for you to
go home.
Look, after I lost in new
Hampshire eight years ago,
poppy, I got out.
>> Yeah.
>> And I think I wouldn't feel
comfortable asking donors for
more money or voters for their
vote if I didn't see a realistic
path to victory.
So I don't disagree with Mitt.
>> You're betting a lot on new
Hampshire.
That's clear.
Looking at the most recent new
Hampshire polling you're behind
trump, Desantis but also behind
senator Tim Scott at 6%.
He's at 8%.
And he's got a really high
favorability rating and you're
fighting a -- the highest
unfavorability rating in the
state.
Why should people vote for you,
governor, and not just against
trump?
Why you?
>> Well, first off, poppy,
it's -- every different poll
that you look at we're at 10% in
another poll in New Hampshire
and ahead of Tim Scott and two
other ones.
So which ever one you use,
you're going to see a bit of a
different result.
But look, the reason is because
when we had the problems in this
country that we had back in the
late '70s, it looks very much
like today.
Energy crisis.
Problems overseas that are not
being dealt with appropriately.
Run away inflation.
And what the country did and our
party and the Republican party
did was turn to a conservative
governor from a blue state named
Ronald Reagan who understood how
to get things done.
The trump agenda is not worth
anything to Republicans if trump
is the one trying to execute it
because he's proven he didn't
know how to get things done.
He didn't know how to build the
wall.
He didn't repeal to replace
Obamacare.
Added $6 trillion to the
national debt after he said he
was going to balance the budget
in four years.
I balance the budget in new
Jersey every year for eight year
and got things done with a
democratic legislature.
I think the American people are
so down on politics because they
look at Washington and see
nothing getting done.
I know how to do it because I
did with a democratic
legislature in ew Jersey and
preserve the values I agree on.
>> Inflation has been cooling
12-straight months, dramatic
cooling last month.
There has been some improvement
there.
>> Yeah.
>> What about Tim Scott's
gaining of momentum, governor?
You worried about that?
Are you going to start going
after him?
>> I don't worry about anybody,
poppy, except for the person in
front.
And if you want to win this
primary, you're going to have to
prove to Republican primary
voters why Donald Trump should
not be renominated.
He shouldn't be renominated for
a whole variety of reasons.
But most importantly because he
can't beat Joe Biden and already
proven that.
Look, I like Tim Scott.
I think he's a good guy.
We have known each other for a
decade.
And we see eye to eye on a lot
of different things.
But the point is, that I'm
someone who had the experience
of getting things done at the
executive level in government
and one of the hardest states to
govern in this country.
>> You clearly think Donald
Trump is a danger to this
country.
Do you think he's more dangerous
to this country with a second
term than a Joe Biden second
term?
>> Look, I think they're both
wrong for the country.
By the way 70% of the country
agrees with me, poppy.
They don't want a trump versus
Biden race.
>> Who is worse?
>> Poppy, that's like flipping a
coin.
>> You said that in your town
hall.
>> They're both bad for our town
hall.
>> You're so candid when you're
talking about trump.
>> I did say -- I am answering
the question, poppy.
I think they're both awful.
You're trying to get me to pick
between two awful alternatives.
Here is something I'm completely
committed to.
I intend to beat both of them.
I intend to beat Joe Biden after
I beat Donald Trump.
What people know about inflation
is that prices are 17% higher
now than they were when Joe
Biden took the oath of office.
>> I'm not arguing inflation is
not a problem.
I'm not arguing it's not a
problem.
It's a huge problem.
Trust me, we ask the Biden
administration about them.
We're seeing improvement and
Morgan Stanley came out and
credited Biden and their
economic strategy for a big
boost in economic growth ahead.
Let me ask you about what you
would do though as president.
You were governor.
Executive of the state of new
Jersey.
You were also a federal
prosecutor.
Right now Texas governor Greg
Abbott is going head to head in
court.
He says he'll go to the supreme
court with the department of
justice who says he is clearly
breaking a federal statute with
these buoys in the water and the
barriers in the Rio grande.
You're a former federal
prosecutor.
Do you think Texas has the
authority to do what they're
doing and would you do it if you
were governor in that state?
>> I think they do have the
authority to do it.
I think this is another
overreach by the Biden
administration.
They've been smacked down by
federal courts and most
particularly the supreme court
on a number of overreaches of
authority.
And I think they do have the
authority to do it in Texas.
And if I were Greg Abbott, the
governor of our largest border
state, I would be doing
everything within reason that I
could to be able to slow down --
>> Where is --
>> What's going on at the
border.
>> Where is that border when
title 3 of U.S. Code section 403
creation of obstruction not
affirmatively -- the text is
very clear and you have the
supremacy clause of the
constitution.
>> And it's very clear, poppy,
Texas state law that they have
the absolute right to protect
their borders and there's no
question.
>> They do, but not while
breaking federal laws.
Could you have built a dam in
the Hudson?
>> There were days that I really
wanted to, poppy.
>> But you didn't.
Could you have really?
>> Stuff going on in New York.
A dam in the Hudson river was
not something that was going to
be regarding the sanctity of new
Jersey's borders.
This is different.
And by the way, the supremacy
clause does apply but not when
the federal government has
absolutely disappeared from
doing what needs to be done to
secure the border.
You can't regulate something but
then vacate the field and not do
your job.
If you're not doing the job, the
states have the right to do it.
He has the right to do it not
only under state law.
Let me finish.
Not only under state law but
also because the argument I
guarantee will be made in
federal court that the Biden
administration has abandoned
their role in securing the
border and the states had no
alternative.
That's the key factual argument.
>> There's a little delay.
We'll move on.
The Biden administration will
argue as they did yesterday from
the white house, look, illegal
boarding crossings at the
southern border are down since
we implemented these changes.
42% in the last month.
I want to move on to the issue
of Israel and the biggest
protests we have seen in the
history of the country right now
given the law that passed
supported by Netanyahu that the
supreme court now can't be the
ultimate check on the government
there.
Again, I wonder if you agree
with Netanyahu who calls that,
governor, the essence of
democracy.
Is it?
>> It's not the essence of
American democracy, I'll tell
you that, poppy.
Our founders set this up so that
all those branchs would be in
conflict with each other, be a
check and balance on the other.
And I think that's why we're the
most sustained democracy in the
history of the world is because
of all those branchs.
The legislative branch, the
executive branch and the
judicial branch.
Being a check and a balance on
each other.
And I think that, you know,
people are protesting in Israel
because they want to make sure
that no one has unchecked power.
In a democracy, in a republic
like ours or like Israel's
unchecked power is not good for
anyone.
And I think those are the
biggest reasons why people are
expressing this concern in
Israel and I think it's
appropriate to express that
concern.
>> Sounds like you agree with
the Biden administration on
that.
Let's move on to trump as a
former prosecutor, you know all
about intent and how that is a
key factor in proving a crime.
Did former president trump
know -- I know you have seen our
recent reporting overnight about
that February 2020 oval office
meeting.
Did former president trump know
he lost the election?
Did he say to you or acknowledge
to you that he lost?
>> He never acknowledged to me
after the fact that he lost, but
he certainly expressed to me
during the campaign and during
preparations for the debates he
was very concerned about losing.
I have no doubt in my mind,
poppy, in his heart Donald Trump
knows he lost to Joe Biden in
November of 2020, but he has
convinced himself by trying to
convince others that the truth
is otherwise despite the fact
that there is no evidence that
the election was stolen in 2020.
I've been saying that since
election night 2020.
I've been demanding to see the
evidence and there is none.
So he never looked me in the eye
and said to me, I know I lost.
But he was very concerned
beforehand about losing.
And so, it doesn't surprise me
at all the reporting that you
gave overnight.
But even more so, this is a guy
who put his own self interest
ahead of the country's