The White House blasted New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a Republican presidential candidate, on Monday for saying that President Obama doesn’t support police officers.
White House press secretary Josh Earnest called Mr. Christie’s remarks “particularly irresponsible, but not surprising for somebody whose poll numbers are closer to an asterisk than they are double-digits.”
“Clearly this is part of his strategy to turn this [campaign] around,” Mr. Earnest told reporters. “We’ll see how that works out.”
Mr. Christie, a former federal prosecutor who is far back in the pack of the GOP presidential race, said Monday that Mr. Obama bears some of the blame for anti-police sentiment in the U.S.
“We have liberal policies that tie the hands behind the backs of police officers and then when incidents happen, accuse them of misconduct first and then do the investigation later,” Mr. Christie said on the “Morning Joe” show on MSNBC. “And you’ve got a president of the United States who does not support law enforcement. Simply doesn’t.”
Mr. Obama is visiting New Jersey Monday to highlight efforts at criminal justice reform. Mr. Christie said the president is coming to “take credit” for the state’s dropping crime rates “because it’s one of the few places in the country where that actually is happening, when he has absolutely nothing to do with it.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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