In his first interview since announcing his run for president, Christie tells NBC News: “I’ve never had any problem getting attention. I think I’ll do OK.”
Lauer’s wide-ranging interview airs tonight on NBC Nightly News and MSNBC, with much more tomorrow on “TODAY”
JUNE 30, 2015 – In his first interview since formally entering the 2016 presidential race, Gov. Chris Christie told NBC’s Matt Lauer: “I believe in myself and I believe in what I have to offer the American people and I believe that I have always been able to connect with real people. And I think if I do those three things over the course of the next 18 months, I’m going to be the next president of the United States.” The New Jersey Republican also addressed the crowded GOP field: “I think the biggest problem with so many people is getting attention, and I’ve never had any problem getting attention.”
Lauer spoke with Gov. Christie in Livingston, New Jersey, both before and after this morning’s official announcement and visited the governor’s childhood home.
Extended portions of Lauer’s wide-ranging interview will air tonight on “NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt” and tomorrow on “TODAY.” An additional excerpt will air in primetime tonight on MSNBC. The interview will be available on NBCNews.com and TODAY.com after it airs.
Video of this preview is available on NBCNews.com: http://nbcnews.to/1JuV3Iv
Excerpts of the interview may be used subject to the following restrictions:
- Mandatory credit to NBC News on first reference.
- The onscreen “NBC News Exclusive” credit must be clearly visible and unobstructed at all times in any image, video clip, or other form of media.
- Embedded web video must stream from the NBCNews.com media player with the unobstructed credit as described above.
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MANDATORY CREDIT: NBC NEWS / MATT LAUER
MATT LAUER: Back in April when we got together you said this to me, you said, “Here’s the great thing about politics, none of it matters until the game starts. None of it matters until you see how people perform under these lights.” Alright so, the game has started.
GOVERNOR CHRISTIE: Yup.
MATT LAUER: Alright. How do you think you’ll stack up against those other 13 candidates?
GOVERNOR CHRISTIE: I believe in myself and I believe in what I have to offer the American people and I believe that I have always been able to connect with real people. And I think if I do those three things over the course of the next 18 months, I’m going to be the next President of the United States. And if I don’t, I won’t.
MATT LAUER: It’s very crowded, is that an advantage or a disadvantage for you?
GOVERNOR CHRISTIE: Hard to tell, but I’ll say this much. I think the biggest problem with so many people is getting attention, and I’ve never had any problem getting attention. So I think I’ll do ok.
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