Christie said in a Friday interview that he has no concerns that he damaged himself among Republicans nationally.

“I think what right-thinking Republicans will understand is that I’m representing my people, and that that’s got to be my first and most important job,” Christie said. “I think the second thing that right-thinking Republicans will come to the conclusion of is that the speaker made a mistake, not only by pulling the vote but by pulling the vote and not even discussing it with anybody first.”…

“I don’t have to worry … too much. I think if you try to think about these things too hard, you wind up not being yourself. And I have no interest in not being myself,” Christie said. “If it angers some Republicans, I’m sorry. I don’t think it should. I think they’d want their governor to do exactly the same thing in the same circumstances. In fact, they would expect him or her to do that, so they shouldn’t have any different expectations of me.

“I love my party. I’m a Republican,” he said. “I have great respect for the speaker, but he just was wrong on this one.”