Gov. Christie Sees No Rush for Romney on VP Pick
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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(TRENTON) — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, pressed by reporters to comment on when he thinks Mitt Romney should choose a running mate, said it should be when the presumptive GOP nominee is “comfortable.”
“When he’s confident that he has vetted and identified the appropriate person then I think he should ask that person, whenever that is and however long that takes,” Christie told reporters on Thursday. “Now I assume it’s going to take a while because he just named Beth Myers to lead his V.P. search and I’m sure they have got a lot of work to do to make sure that they put before Gov. Romney a set of fully vetted and acceptable alternatives for him and then I’m sure he’s going to want to think about that a good amount.”
The Republican governor answered the question, but told reporters at a press conference after an event about job opportunities for residents with developmental disabilities that he’s “so outside that loop, I’m not going to be giving opinions about when it should be, when he’s comfortable.”
“You’re picking the person next in line for the presidency and for him, knowing the way Gov. Romney works, he’s picking a governing partner for the next eight years and you are going to want to pick that person really carefully so I don’t know how long it will take…but that’s up to Gov. Romney,” Christie said, before adding that he thinks Romney will be “somewhat dependent” upon Myers because she has “been a trusted aide of his for most of his career in politics.”
Despite speculation that Christie will be on Romney’s list, the New Jersey governor said earlier this week he’s “not looking to become vice president.” However, he did leave the door open to a conversation about being Romney’s running mate if the presumptive GOP nominee does come calling.
“I love this job (governor) and I’m not looking to do it,” Christie said. “But I also think it is extraordinarily arrogant for you to say you won’t even listen to the nominee of your party — especially for me. It’s someone who I’ve been supporting since last October vigorously around the country — that I wouldn’t take a call from Mitt Romney.”
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