In an interview with New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Tuesday's NBC Today,
co-host Matt Lauer was aghast at an off-the-cuff joke by Mitt Romney on
Friday: "...he said, 'No one's ever asked to see my birth certificate,'
an obvious reference to the birther debate. Is it – he says it
was a joke. Is it funny to kind of pay attention to a fringe group and
question the very legitimacy of the President of the United States's
citizenship?" [Listen to the audio [1]]
Christie replied: "Yeah, but he hasn't. I mean, he has been the
clearest, the most affirmative of all the Republican candidates who are
running for this nomination, in saying that he didn't think that was an
issue." Lauer ignored the fact that President Obama himself has joked about his birth certificate [2] on more than one occasion and that the Obama campaign actually raised money off the issue, selling mugs and t-shirts mocking the conspiracy theory [3].
Christie also appeared on ABC's Good Morning America [4] and CBS This Morning [5] on Tuesday, no one asked him about the comment.
On Friday's Nightly News, fill-in anchor David Gregory hyped the remark by wondering if it really was a joke and declaring how it had "immediately erupted in controversy." [6]
Earlier in the Today interview, Lauer asked Christie about his upcoming
keynote address to the Republican National Convention Tuesday night and
urged moderation: "Will you also, in this speech, say that the only way
out of that trouble is the Republican way, solely the Republican way,
or will you strike one of your common themes of compromise?"
Christie explained: "I'll use New Jersey as an illustrative experience
about what can happen if you stick by your principles and look for ways
to solve problems." Lauer shot back: "Except your locked in a pretty
tough battle with Democrats in your own state right now, there's
gridlock over your tax plan. So is that the absolute right message to be
sending now?"
Unwilling to let the issue go, Lauer worried:
On the subject of compromise, the delegates who are attending here have been vocal, they've come right out and said they want a convention that takes a hard line against the Democrats. If they win the White House and they continue to control the House and perhaps even control the Senate, if your party does, do you think that people in this party are going to be in the mood for compromise?
Lauer then moved on to the favorite Democratic talking point about
Romney not releasing enough tax returns: "By not releasing more
information, is he not creating more mystery than needs to be created
and has he not become somewhat of an enigma when it comes to his taxes?"
Christie responded: "I think the President has been a mystery and an
enigma to a lot of people in terms of what he's really willing to fight
for, what he really believes in. And I think that's much more important,
on policy, than on what are side issues here, like taxes."
Lauer continued to grill: "And if you were a guy like Mitt Romney,
who'd been in public office, in and out of public office 10 years, who'd
been running for president for the better part of five years, wouldn't
you have taken steps to take all of your money out of known tax havens,
just to avoid the appearance of impropriety?"
Here is a portion of the August 28 interview:
7:13AM ET
(...)
LAUER:
You have said that you want to tell some very direct and hard truths to
the country about the trouble we're in, in this speech tonight. Will
you also, in this speech, say that the only way out of that trouble is
the Republican way, solely the Republican way, or will you strike one of
your common themes of compromise?
CHRISTIE: Well, we'll wait til' tonight. But what I will tell you is,
I'll use New Jersey as an illustrative experience about what can happen
if you stick by your principles and look for ways to solve problems.
LAUER: Except your locked in a pretty tough battle with Democrats in
your own state right now, there's gridlock over your tax plan. So is
that the absolute right message to be sending now?
CHRISTIE: It sure it is. Because if you look at over the course of two
and a half years, we've compromised on significant pension and health
benefit reform that few other people have done in the country, capped
property taxes. Done a number of different things that people said we
weren't going to be able to get done. Reformed teacher tenure. So, it
can be done, but you've got to be consistent and stick to your
principles, and send that message to the people and to those you're
working with.
LAUER: On the subject of compromise, the delegates who are attending
here have been vocal, they've come right out and said they want a
convention that takes a hard line against the Democrats. If they win the
White House and they continue to control the House and perhaps even
control the Senate, if your party does, do you think that people in this
party are going to be in the mood for compromise?
CHRISTIE: I think that what's going to matter is what the President of
the United States is going to want to do. And we've seen that the last
four years. The President of the United States did not want to work with
Republicans and didn't, and didn't reach out to the Republicans until
they were in the majority in the House. I think Mitt Romney brings a
much different experience to the table, worked with an 85% Democrat
legislature as governor of Massachusetts. Knows how to work across the
aisle and get things done, but also stand for his principles. I think
those are things that are both possible, we'll talk about that tonight.
LAUER: There is continuing pressure and talk about Mitt Romney and tax
returns. And there's more pressure, not only from the Obama campaign,
but from conservatives within your own party, to have him release more
information. You gave a speech recently and you said, "You can't lead by
being a mystery. You can't lead by being an enigma." By not releasing
more information, is he not creating more mystery than needs to be
created and has he not become somewhat of an enigma when it comes to his
taxes?
CHRISTIE: I don't think so. I – listen, he's been very clear about it,
he's not releasing anymore of his tax returns. And so I think, at some
point, 70 days out, we've got to take the man at his word, he's not
going to do it. And I don't think he's been a mystery or an enigma in
terms of what he stands for and what he believes, which is what I was
talking about in that speech. I think the President has been a mystery
and an enigma to a lot of people in terms of what he's really willing to
fight for, what he really believes in. And I think that's much more
important, on policy, than on what are side issues here, like taxes.
LAUER: You're a very savvy politician.
CHRISTIE: Thank you.
LAUER: And if you were a guy like Mitt Romney, who'd been in public
office, in and out of public office 10 years, who'd been running for
president for the better part of five years, wouldn't you have taken
steps to take all of your money out of known tax havens, just to avoid
the appearance of impropriety?
CHRISTIE: Well, here's the good news. I don't have enough money to send
to tax havens, Matt, so I never had to confront that issue. So my
general rule is not to answer hypotheticals. And given that, I hope some
day to have enough money to go to tax havens, but I don't have it now.
LAUER: But you don't think he's failed to take some steps that would have paved a much smoother road for him?
CHRISTIE: Well listen, I think you can always look back, alright, in
retrospect and say maybe I would have done this or that differently. But
in the end, do I think any American voter is gonna say, 'I'm not voting
for him because of this,' no. I think there are much more concerns
about mounting debt and deficit and the other issues we're talking
about, joblessness, and those are the things that are gonna decide this
election.
LAUER: Every once in a while, comments on the trail crop up. And
Governor Romney made a comment at a rally, I think it was on Friday, and
he said, "No one's ever asked to see my birth certificate," an obvious
reference to the birther debate. Is it – he says it was a joke. Is it
funny to kind of pay attention to a fringe group and question the very
legitimacy of the President of the United States's citizenship?
CHRISTIE: Yeah, but he hasn't. I mean, he has been the clearest, the
most affirmative of all the Republican candidates who are running for
this nomination, in saying that he didn't think that was an issue. He
believes the President was born here in the United States and that it
shouldn't be discussed. I think if he had to do it over again, he
wouldn't make the joke. But you know what? When you're on camera 12, 14
hours a day and you're out at big rallies and you're just going off the
cuff, there are gonna be times when you're gonna say stuff you wish you
could take back. Believe me, Matt, I could put together a catalog for
you of things I wish I could take back.
(...)