New Jersey Governor Chris Christie wants to make it clear: he's not running for president.
In an interview with Fox News reporter Neil Cavuto, Christie responded to persistent rumors that he might run as a Republican candidate in the 2012 presidential election.
The crowd cheered when Cavuto mentioned "talk of a Governor Christie maybe being a President Christie," but the NJ governor laughed briefly and shook his head: "Not going to happen."
"I want to be governor of New Jersey," Christie said. "I ran for governor of New Jersey."
"You have to be really in your gut and in your heart ready to be president of the United States if you decide to run for that, and I simply do not have the desire to do it, nor do I think I’m ready," he said, mentioning that the GOP asked him to run for NJ governor in 2005 but that he "made the decision not to run...because I loved the job I was in and I didn't think I was ready."
Though Cavuto told Christie that "you have more experience than Barack Obama when he announced he was running," Christie didn't bite.
"That doesn't mean that I'm ready. That doesn't mean that I'm ready," he answered.
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Cavuto continued to press, saying: "Have you looked at the field, right now? It's not very impressive."
"I'm not going to get into evaluating the field," said Christie.
When asked if he would consider being vice president, Christie laughed. "Is there anybody around here who thinks I could be a number two to anybody?"
"Now's the time for me to focus on being governor," Christie said. "That's why I've said very clearly to people: while I'm flattered by all this--I really am, you know, and who wouldn't be...on the other hand, I know who I am."
