TRENTON, NJ – As Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie made the public teachers union, the NJEA and its members public enemy number one on many occasions. While many in New Jersey disagree with the heavy hand of the NJEA union, most have no problems with teachers in the classrooms across the state. Even in Republican strongholds like Ocean County where teachers are revered, the union itself, for the most part, is not.
He has called teachers every name in the book, likened them to organized crime and worked eight years to try to get New Jerseayns to rise up against the union.
It didn’t really work. Now, he’s taking his anti-teacher rhetoric on the national stage, giving Americans a glimpse into his deep-seated disdain for educators.
Christie set off a firestorm on social media after making remarks about Jill Biden and teachers unions during the second Republican presidential primary debate on September 27.
Christie, 56, attacked the role of teachers unions, stating, “This public school system is no longer run by the public. It is run by the teachers unions in this country.” Jill Biden, a member of a teachers union and the wife of President Joe Biden, was indirectly targeted in his comments.
The former New Jersey Governor then went on to say, “And when you have the president of the United States sleeping with a member of the teachers union, there is no chance that you can take the stranglehold away from the teachers union every day.”
Christie concluded, “They have an advocate inside the White House every day for the worst of their teachers, not for their students to be the best they can be.”
Social media users were quick to react, with many expressing outrage and others defending Christie’s stance on teachers unions.
The attack hasn’t helped Christie in the polls. In the polls conducted since the debate, Christie still trails the pack with just 3% support.