Gov. Chris Christie said Tuesday that he did not support President Trump’s so-called “Muslim ban” and told him that at the time.
“I was not a guy who favored the Muslim ban, and I told him that. And I told him that I thought it was both problematic legally, and not the right thing to do from the image of the United States and the kind of people that we are. And I told him that at the time,” Mr. Christie, New Jersey Republican, said on MSNBC.
When asked how Mr. Trump reacted to the disagreement, Mr. Christie, a supporter of the president, said “it depends.”
“Some days, he’ll just get real quiet with me about it and listen and that’s that. Other days, he’ll yell back at me and fight and ask me why I’m so hard on him and that kind of thing,” he said.
The Muslim ban suspended refugees from Syria and immigrants from other countries, pending a security review under an executive order from Mr. Trump.
But Mr. Christie did say that he agrees with Mr. Trump’s deadline on DACA — Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals — explaining that Congress needs to put a law on the books instead of an executive order.
“I never thought the executive order was the right way to do it,” he said. “I think he should’ve forced Congress to do what they needed to do and sat down and made a deal with them. And I think this president should do the same thing,” Mr. Christie said.
• Sally Persons can be reached at spersons@washingtontimes.com.
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