Christie: "I'm 100 Percent Certain I’m Not Going to Run” for President in 2012

Gov. Chris Christie said he’s “100 percent certain I’m not going to run” for President in 2012 on CNN’s “Piers Morgan Tonight.”

Sitting in the gym of Livingston High School where Christie graduated in 1980, the governor said he's not ready.

“I wouldn’t want to say, ‘I know I can win. I hope I am ready,” Christie said in the interview that aired Tuesday night. “I’d rather say, ‘I know I am ready. I hope I can win.”

At the Christie’s home in Mendham, Mary Pat Christie added, “We all decided as a team it’s probably not the right time.”

Christie, a rising star of the Republican Party, sat down with Morgan on June 8. The pair filmed footage at Livingston High School and the Ritz diner, and at the governor’s home with his family. They talked about a range of issues, including the controversy surrounding the governor's use of a state helicopter to go to his son's baseball game, public vs. private education, and gay marriage.

Republicans have courted Christie to make a run for president in 2012. “Your party is crying out for a savior, somebody that they think has the youthful energy and dynamism to combat that strength in Obama, somebody who has an economic track record,” Morgan said.

"I'm sure his country could use him but his family needs him too," Mary Pat Christie said. "I think he could be president. I think he'd be a great president. But I also think he'd be a great CEO. He'd be a great person to stay home and teach college classes."

Morgan and Christie talked at Livingston High School, where the former governor served as student council president and catcher of a championship baseball team. "You're the guy the party likes," Morgan said. "Why wouldn't you run?"

"I'm making this decision whether I believe in my heart that I'm ready to be President of the United States and that I want to be President of the United States right now."

Pressed by Morgan to look him in the eye to deny he's hasn't firmly closed the door on 2012, Christie said, “You’re wrong. I’m 100 percent certain I’m not going to run.”