Chris Christie stood by his attack on first lady Jill Biden in the second presidential debate of the Republican primary, calling Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s criticism of his words the “highlight of my day.”
Christie attacked Joe Biden’s ties with unions by saying the president “slept with a union member” – a reference to Jill Biden and her membership in a teachers union.
When CNN’s Poppy Harlow asked if women were offended by his remark, Christie interrupted her and said, “Well, that’s the truth, isn’t it?”
He called the first lady “a radical champion of the worst in the teachers union.”
Chris Christie doubled down on his attacks on First Lady Jill Biden
His original comments during the debate sparked outrage.
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called Christie’s comments on social media “disgusting, misogynistic, and if Republicans want to continue to anger an entire nation of women, please be my guest.”
Asked about the New York congresswoman’s criticism, Christie replied: “I stand by the wording. “Being called disgusting by a hypocrite like Ocasio-Cortez is the highlight of my day so far.”
The former New Jersey governor also pointed to a recent book about Biden’s administration that detailed conversations the president allegedly had with Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.
“It’s very, very specifically about, as Joe Biden told Randi Weingarten, ‘I told you that from day one when you moved into the White House, you would have a lawyer here at the White House for you,'” Christie said CNN. “That’s the story. “Joe Biden was a radical advocate for the worst in the teachers union.”
“And that’s why I brought it up, because no one else is willing to do it,” he added. “No one else is willing to say it.”
Neither the Biden campaign nor the East Wing responded to ‘s inquiry about Christie’s insult to the first lady.
Jill Biden has been a teacher for more than 30 years, currently teaches at a community college in Northern Virginia and is a member of the National Education Association.
She began her career as a public high school English teacher and later went back to school to earn her doctorate in education.
She taught English as a professor at Northern Virginia Community College when her husband was vice president and continued to do so when he won the presidency, making her the first first lady in modern history to have a job outside of her ceremonial duties.
She described herself as a “proud, successful union member.”
Both she and President Biden have held events with Weingarten and members of the teachers union, in addition to events with other unions such as the union.
President Joe Biden with First Lady Jill Biden – she has described herself as a union member and he has spoken about her union membership
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called Christ Christie’s comments about Jill Biden ‘disgusting and misogynistic’
During the debate, Christie criticized President Biden for “sleeping with a member of the teachers’ union” – referring to the first lady – and said the teachers’ union “has a lawyer in the White House every day for the worst of their teachers, “Not so that your students can be the best they can be.”
Biden has called himself “the most pro-union president in American history” — referring to his longstanding ties and support to all unions, not just his marriage to a union member.
But he did note his wife’s membership in the National Education Association.
“I sleep with an NEA member every night,” he said at the Labor Day event in 2021.
Later in the Republican debate, former Vice President Mike Pence brought the conversation back to the bedroom, noting that his wife, Karen, was a teacher.
“For full disclosure, Chris, you mentioned the president’s situation. My wife is not a member of the teachers’ union, but I have to admit that I have been sleeping with a teacher for 38 years. “Full disclosure,” he said.
The comment was met with silence from the Simi Valley studio audience.
Jill Biden has been a teacher for more than 30 years
Mike Pence noted that he is also sleeping with a teacher – his wife Karen
According to her former Indiana government website, Karen Pence taught school for decades and earned a master’s degree in education and teaching art therapy.
As first lady of Indiana, she taught at a Christian school that does not accept gay students and whose employees are prohibited from engaging in “homosexual or lesbian sexual activity.”
Christie battled teachers unions as governor of New Jersey and railed against them during his failed 2016 presidential campaign, calling them “the most destructive force in public education in America.”