Chris Christie says a government shutdown would be "a failure of everybody, including the president," and he’s calling on President Barack Obama to usher both sides toward a deal.
“Because in the end, we're here to stand up for principles, to say the things that we believe in, but we're also here to lead and run a government,” Christie said in an interview with ABC’s “World News” with Diane Sawyer set to air Wednesday evening. “It would be a failure of everyone involved, of the Congress and the president, if they don't get this done."
Referring to his own experiences grappling with a state budget last year, the New Jersey governor said, “I just got in the room with the Democrats in the legislature, and we came to a principled agreement. I have a particular message for the president: He should get in and lead and bring them together."
Christie's "World News" interview is the latest flag he's planted on the national scene. In February he gave a speech at at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington about addressing government bloat and gridlock, and on Thursday he'll give a speech about education in Manhattan.
But he insisted again, as he has so many times before, that he will not run for president this cycle.
"No, I'm not running for president," he said. "I don't feel ready in my heart to be president. And unless I do, I don't have any right offering myself to the people of this country."
“I don't want to participate in the vanity exercise just because people ask me to do it or because people say, 'you could win.' That's not the point,” he added.
Christie suggested that real estate mogul Donald Trump — who he dubbed "a really good friend of mine" — is not seriously looking at a White House bid.
“Donald's a really good friend of mine,” Christie said. “I don't know that Donald really wants to be president. We've spoken about it, and all I can say to you is that, you know, I'll believe it when I see it. I think he likes what he does. I think he likes building things. And I think he likes being on TV, and you know, he does that well.
"I wouldn't call it [a] stunt," he added, "but I think he's very outspoken and... he loves to be on the stage and to express his opinions."
