New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie turned down an invitation Wednesday from Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul to have a beer and end a nearly week-long feud between the two Republicans.
"I think with Gov. Christie it's gotten a little too personal, so we're ready to kiss and make up," Paul told Fox News host Neil Cavuto Wednesday afternoon.
"I'm inviting him for a beer. Any time he would like to come down and sit down at the pub right around the corner from the Senate, we'll have a beer," Paul said.
Editor's Note: Should ObamaCare Be Repealed? Vote in Urgent National Poll
But Christie rebuffed the offer a short time later during his monthly appearance on 101.5 FM's "Ask the Governor" program. "I'm running for re-election in New Jersey. I don't really have time for that at the moment," he said.
But Christie added, "You know, if I find myself down in Washington I'll certainly look him up. I don’t suspect I'll be there anytime soon. I've got work to do here."
The war of words between the two potential 2016 presidential candidates began last week during a forum at the Republican Governors Association meeting in Aspen, Colo. Christie criticized Paul and other Republicans — and some Democrats as well — for their non-interventionist views on foreign affairs and for opposing National Security Agency domestic surveillance operations as a violation of citizen privacy rights.
"I mean, these esoteric, intellectual debates — I want them to come to New Jersey and sit across from the widows and the orphans and have that conversation. And they won't, 'cause that's a much tougher conversation to have,"
Christie said, challenging lawmakers to explain their views to the families of people killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Paul immediately responded, saying in
a post on his Facebook page, "Chris Christie worries about the dangers of freedom. I worry about the danger of losing that freedom. Spying without warrants is unconstitutional."
The word fight escalated later after Paul called Christie the "king of bacon" for seeking federal aid to help the state recover from Hurricane Sandy.
Christie retorted that New Jersey pays more in taxes to Washington than it receives in federal aid while Kentucky gets more federal money back than it pays in taxes.
In his radio appearance Christie said he didn't understand what all the fuss was about, but continued to poke at Paul as if he were a young adolescent who still has a lot to learn about appropriate behavior.
"I don't know why Sen. Paul is so out of whack about this. At the end of the day, I never called him any names, yet he called me names. I didn't use any childish-type phrases like 'gimme, gimme, gimme.' He did."
Christie continued, "I just have to assume from that that he's just trying to get attention. That's fine . . . He's not the first politician who's used me to get attention in the national media, and I'm sure he won't be the last."
For his part, Paul told Cavuto that he had not formally reached out to Christie with his offer of a peace settlement over beer.
"It hasn't been formalized," he said. "I just thought of it, so we'll formalize it, and we'll put it in writing. But I think we could sit down and have a beer and mend things."
When Cavuto asked Paul if he would support Christie for president, the senator responded, "I will support whoever the Republican nominee is. Whomever wins, and that would include Chris Christie."
Editor's Note: Should ObamaCare Be Repealed? Vote in Urgent National Poll
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.