Ryan Graves said Christie shouldn't make light of phenomena: 'When is laughter ever an acceptable response to a national security question?'
Christie can't believe he got asked about UFOs: 'Come on man'
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie says it's the job of the president to be truthful to the American people and will share the truth about UFOs if elected.
FIRST ON FOX – Former Navy pilot and Americans for Safe Aerospace founder Ryan Graves called out Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie for laughing off questions about UFOs on Wednesday.
"I get the UFO question?" Christie said at the first Republican primary debate, laughing when asked about what he would do in the White House if he had authority over what the Pentagon now calls unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAPs.
"I think it's horrible that just because I’m from New Jersey, you asked me about unidentified flying objects and Martians," Christie said to laughter. "We're different, but we're not that different."
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Former Navy pilot and Americans for Safe Aerospace founder Ryan Graves called out Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie for laughing off questions about UFOs at the debate Wednesday. (Fox News Digital (LEFT) // Fox News (RIGHT))
Christie then pivoted to speaking about the importance of truth-telling in the White House. "The job of the President of the United States is to level with the American people about everything," he said. "The job of the President of the United States is to stand for truth," adding that threats to children's education were more significant than UFOs.
Graves fired back at Christie over his comments in a statement to Fox News Digital Thursday.
"When is laughter ever an acceptable response to a national security question?" Graves wrote, referencing Christie's flippant response to the question.
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"Advanced UAP present a clear and present national security problem, so I invite Gov. Christie and any presidential candidate to meet with Navy pilots who have witnessed advanced UAP that exceed our tactical jets," Graves added. "Americans deserve answers and transparency, not jokes about aliens that perpetuate stigma and suppresses reporting."
Other major political figures have spoken publicly about UFOs in recent months.
Other major political figures have spoken publicly about UFOs in recent months, including Sens. Chuck Schumer and Marco Rubio. ((Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images // Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images))
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, N.Y., said in July that Americans have a right to know about "non-human" intelligences operating in the world.
"The American public has a right to learn about technologies of unknown origins, non-human intelligence, and unexplainable phenomena," he said. "We are not only working to declassify what the government has previously learned about these phenomena but to create a pipeline for future research to be made public."
Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, a co-sponsor of the UFO disclosure amendment, called on the executive branch to aid in exploring the issue of UAPs.
"There is a lot we still don’t know about these UAPs and that is a big problem," Rubio also said in July. "We’ve taken some important steps over the last few years to increase transparency and reduce stigmas, but more needs to be done. This is yet another step in that direction, and one that I hope will spur further cooperation from the executive branch."
Graves previously told Fox News Digital that he was launching a campaign "to support commercial aircrew and military UAP witnesses who want to share their accounts."
The campaign will provide a website and a safe "pipeline" for pilots who have witnessed or encountered UAPs directly within their careers to attest to their experience, Graves said.
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Jeffrey Clark is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. He has previously served as a speechwriter for a cabinet secretary and as a Fulbright teacher in South Korea. Jeffrey graduated from the University of Iowa in 2019 with a degree in English and History.
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