New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said Thursday that he supports the Supreme Court's Hobby Lobby ruling, just weeks after saying on national television that he wouldn't give his opinion on it.
Christie, a potential 2016 presidential contender, offered his position on the Hobby Lobby case during a meet-and-greet event in Iowa. The Democratic super PAC American Bridge caught the exchange on video and sent it to The Huffington Post.
"Do I support the Supreme Court's decision in the Hobby Lobby case? I do," said Christie, responding to a question from a man at MJ's Restaurant in Marion, Iowa.
Late last month, the Supreme Court ruled that closely held corporations, like Hobby Lobby, cannot be required to provide contraception coverage for their employees if their owners object on religious grounds.
Thursday was the first time Christie had expressed his view on the decision. In fact, a day after the Supreme Court ruled, he told a CNBC host that he would not be sharing his opinion at all. When asked whether the court was "right" in its decision, he replied, "Who knows?"
"The fact is that when you're an executive, your Supreme Court makes a ruling and you've got to live with it unless you can get the legislative body to change the law or change the Constitution. The point is: Why should I give an opinion as to whether they were right or wrong? At the end of the day, they did what they did. That's now the law of the land," he said.
Christie, however, has commented on Supreme Court cases in the past, such as when he blasted the justices for striking down a key portion of the Defense of Marriage Act.
UPDATE: 11:48 p.m. -- Pete Clancy of Cedar Rapids was the individual who asked Christie about his Hobby Lobby position. In an email, he told The Huffington Post why:
As a social studies teacher, I am always very interested and try to get to see national figures when they're close. I have always been an advocate for women's rights -- especially when it comes to health care; making sure women have control of their own health needs and decisions. I've been following the Hobby Lobby case, and since there has been much talk about Christie running in 2016, I thought it was an important question to ask.
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