Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
WADE VANDERVORT/AFP via Getty Images
Christie called it a “big mistake” for the GOP to heckle Biden at the State of the Union.
Christie said that by booing Biden, Republicans were falling for the president’s “bait.”
A better response from the GOP, Christie said, would have been to laugh and move on.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said it was a mistake for Republicans to heckle President Joe Biden during his State of the Union address.
“Big mistake. Look, you know, you don’t want to — you don’t want to rise to the bait. And they did, a number of them did, and it was a big mistake,” Christie told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Sunday.
Christie was referring to the moment in Biden’s speech when the president accused some members of the GOP of wanting to “sunset” Medicare and Social Security. The comment was met with a chorus of boos from the GOP. Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene was also seen shouting “liar” at Biden.
“Look, the better response would have been to respond to that with laughter,” Christie said, adding that Republicans should have just “moved on.”
“The yelling and the screaming stuff, look, I think that’s always bad. It doesn’t get you anywhere,” Christie said. “And it gave Joe Biden an opportunity to engage them back in a way that was spontaneous, that I think was probably the best part of his entire speech.”
And Biden did immediately rebut the Republicans who booed him on Tuesday.
“So folks, as we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare is off the books now, right? Alright,” Biden said, going off-script in response to the rowdy GOP lawmakers.
Republican lawmakers heckled Biden despite House Speaker Kevin McCarthy issuing a warning to the GOP earlier that day, cautioning them against resorting to “childish” behavior during the speech. Greene was one of the rowdiest — when Biden talked about the tense relationship between the US and China, she was heard shouting: “China spied on us.”
Meanwhile, Greene told The New York Times on Wednesday that she is not worried about being reprimanded by McCarthy for her behavior at the State of the Union address.
“I have the speaker’s support, and he has mine,” she told The Times.
Representatives for Greene and Christie’s team at the Christie Institute for Public Policy did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment.