Charismatic New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is in Israel for his first official overseas trip as Governor, and met with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Monday.
Netanyahu, in remarks welcoming Christie, highlighted the similarities and potential cooperation between Israel and New Jersey. “You know, there are so many similarities between New Jersey and Israel. We’re roughly the same size. We’re roughly the same population. I know your voters have better neighbors. Other than that, there are several similarities and I look forward to discussing how we can increase the cooperation.”
Governor Christie, who is visiting with his family and a delegation of leaders from the business and religious sectors, told the Prime Minister that “this is my first visit abroad as Governor and there was never any question of where we would come first, so I’m glad we did.”
Christie briefly considered entering national politics as a candidate for the Republican nomination in the upcoming Presidential election, and there is still speculation that he is a potential vice presidential candidate.
His itinerary also includes a meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres on Tuesday, and traveling to Jordan to meet with King Abdullah II of Jordan.