Many Republicans, still unsatisfied with the crop of Republican presidential contenders, are urging New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to jump into the contest — but Bill O’Reilly isn’t one of them.
The Fox News personality told “Good Morning America” on Tuesday it would be wiser for Christie to sit the race out.
As speculation swirls around a potential Christie run — amplified by Christie’s Tuesday speech at the Reagan Library — O’Reilly said he does not think the governor will join the fray with such little time left to raise money and put together a national organization.
“It would be wiser for him to really establish himself in New Jersey because he hasn’t been there too long,” O’Reilly said.
“Look, I don’t know the governor,” O’Reilly added. “But just for tactical thing, it would be wiser to sit back for a while. He’s got some time. Look, it’s chaotic in there, it’s tempting – you could be president. That’s big.”
O’Reilly also surveyed the current crop of GOP candidates, and said the dissatisfaction with Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign among some Republicans is “the old build-them-up, tear-them-down game.”
“He didn’t have a good debate, but so what?” O’Reilly said, noting that Perry still has a number of upcoming debates to prove himself to voters.
With the GOP field still open, O’Reilly said the race is Republicans’ to lose at this point — if they put up a legitimate contender.
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“If the Republicans can put forth someone who can convince Americans that they have a better handle on the economy, the Republicans will win,” he said.
He shot down the notion, however, that Perry or former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is a favorite so far.
“You’ve got to give them a little bit of time, these guys, it’s not the easiest thing in the world,” he said. “So you’ve got to see how they handle themselves over a period of time. But most Americans aren’t even engaged yet.”
The problem with Washington, O’Reilly said, is that so many career politicians only focus on their reelection chances, and suggested that “regular folks” should come to Washington and run the country.
“I would just wipe the whole place out and bring in regular folks,” O’Reilly said. “Regular folks couldn’t do worse.”
