Republican presidential hopeful and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie blasted New York Mayor Bill de Blasio Tuesday for “deluding Americans” on the city’s crime rate.
“I’m just stunned as are most people who live in this area, that this has been the safest summer in New York,” Christie said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” just minutes after the Democratic mayor and his wife left the same set after their own appearance on the show. De Blasio highlighted police records showing that the summer was New York City’s safest in two decades.
“No one else believes it, except the two people who were just on your set,” Christie said of the mayor’s claim.
On “Morning Joe,” de Blasio argued that while homicides are up slightly, crime overall is down in New York City to its lowest point in 20 years. New York City data support the claim. But Christie, who is struggling to gain footing in the Republican presidential primary, ripped the Democratic mayor’s “liberal policies” and argued they have diminished the quality of life in the city his state borders.
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Christie worked to point his criticism toward President Obama and national liberals in the “Morning Joe” interview.
“It’s less safe in this city, but to give Mayor de Blasio credit, he’s not the only one who’s doing this, because the president has encouraged this lawlessness,” Christie said. “Sanctuary cities across the country, where if you’re mayor and you don’t want to enforce the immigration law? Eh, don’t bother, because the president doesn’t like those laws. You wanna get high in Colorado and Washington, even though marijuana’s against the law in this country? Eh go ahead. It’s coming from the top.”
Christie argued in favor of returning stop-and-frisk, the controversial policing policy de Blasio halted when he took office amid widespread criticism that it lead to racial profiling. Asked about the data showing it was the safest summer in decades, Christie fired back that “it’s not the safest time if you’re a murder victim.”
Jane Timm