Bill O'Reilly: Christie Won't Speak to Me

Bill O’Reilly, host of Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor," says New Jersey GOP Gov. Chris Christie is ducking his program.

"He won’t submit to an interview with me," O’Reilly told "CBS This Morning" Friday.

"Christie just won’t do it. So I can’t tell you policy-wise how versed he is, because I’ve never seen him under that spotlight."

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But that will change, O'Reilly said. "He’s going to have to get under it, whether it’s me or somebody else, but he has not come in."

In any case, Christie can make a strong presidential candidate in 2016, O'Reilly said.

"Christie’s a good politician in the sense that he’s a populist. He’s lived, he knows how to handle himself," O’Reilly said.

"The Republican Party needs to win. Sure there are going to be right-wing people who don’t vote for him. But if you are a Republican, you’re going to have to field somebody to beat Hillary Clinton, and certainly Chris Christie can give Hillary Clinton a run."

O’Reilly said impatience appears to be Christie’s biggest weakness. "He’s an impatient man, and on the national spotlight that’s going to hurt him," O’Reilly said.

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