Christie calls Obama an ineffective negotiator during European trade mission

Barack Obama, Chris Christie

President Barack Obama is greeted by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie upon his arrival at Atlantic City International Airport, Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012, in Atlantic City, NJ. Obama traveled to the region to take an aerial tour of the Atlantic Coast in New Jersey in areas damaged by superstorm Sandy, (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

(Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

CAMBRIDGE, England — Gov. Chris Christie didn't mince words today while traveling in Europe and criticized President Barack Obama for being an ineffective negotiator on the world stage.

The governor, speaking to reporters shortly after attending a pharmaceutical roundtable in Cambridge, blasted Obama midway through his three-day trade mission to the United Kingdom.

"I think the President has shown over and over again that he's not the most effective negotiator, whether you're talking about the Iranian nuclear talks or whether you're talking about his recent foray into Cuba," Christie said. "The president has not proven himself to be the most adept negotiator, in my opinion, on behalf of American interests."

Christie was asked whether the Obama administration did enough to negotiate a trans-Atlantic trade partnership with officials on this side of the Atlantic. The Obama administration has not done enough, Christie said.

"I think there's a number of hurdles that go into the U.S. effectively being able to negotiate trade agreements," he said, "The first one is that you need an effective negotiator at the top."

Christie pushed back at reporters when pressed whether he went as far to break with political tradition and refrain from criticizing the commander in chief while on foreign soil.

"I was asked a question about trade and I have my answer on trade, and the fact is I don't think he's been an effective negotiator," Christie said. "That shouldn't be news to anybody."

The criticism against Obama comes a little more than a week after Christie, who's taken concrete steps toward a 2016 presidential campaign, spoke to conservative voters in Iowa, home to the nation's first presidential caucus.

Christie spoke at the Iowa Freedom Summit where many people who attended expressed an unwillingness to get behind a Christie presidential campaign because of his perceived cozy relationship with Obama in the days following Hurricane Sandy striking New Jersey.

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Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

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