Christie “100 Percent Certain” on '12

Chris Christie said Monday that he understands the argument for why he should run, but remains committed to sitting out the 2012 presidential race.

The New Jersey governor did not shut the door on a future presidential run during an interview Monday night with CNN’s Piers Morgan, but definitively stated again that he will remain in Trenton.

“You said, I think, you more likely would commit suicide than to run for president. Can we hold you to that, governor?” Morgan asked Christie, to which the governor responded: “Yes, you can.”

“I’m 100 percent certain I’m not going to run,” the Republican said, adding that his wife didn’t particularly appreciate the suicide line.

Conservatives have fallen hard for Christie’s aggressive style in fighting state employee unions in New Jersey and have been calling for him to run in a field that appears to have an opening for him. Christie said the rationale for conservatives pushing him to run are “appropriate and maybe accurate tactical judgments,” but contended his decision has not been driven by the political calculus.

“That’s not the way you make decisions like running for president of the United States,” he said. “I’m making this decision based on whether I believe in my heart that I’m ready to be president of the United States.”

Christie though clearly has put some thought into running nationally someday.

When Morgan asked the New Jersey governor if he was “100 percent certain” he wouldn’t run in 2016, Christie didn’t want to shut the door.

“There’s so many variables to that, Piers, I couldn’t say,” Christie said.

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