Christie’s jab at Jill Biden spotlights GOP problems with women

Chris Christie’s jab at First Lady Jill Biden during Wednesday night’s debate has sparked bipartisan condemnation and spotlighted the GOP’s messaging problem with women.

Christie, the former Republican New Jersey governor, was bashing teachers unions when he made a snide side comment, saying they are not advocating for children and that President Biden is “sleeping with a member.”

“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,” Christie said.

The first lady is part of the National Education Association and has been a classroom teacher for more than 30 years.

The remark drew criticism from Democrats and even some Republicans, who called it distasteful and unsurprising from the party that’s still dominated by white men and struggling to shake its poor perception of advocating for women.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who has sustained frequent gender attacks from the right, was among the loudest voices in opposition to what she saw as overt sexism, calling his comments “disgusting” and “misogynistic.”