Clinton and Christie recognized the high-wire political act, with the former president joking that the governor was “consorting with a leper.”

But the duo heaped praise on one another, with Clinton applauding the way Christie navigated New Jersey through the aftermath of the storm.

“We need to redefine leadership beyond how you just respond to an emergency to how you keep emergencies from happening, and he’s done a good job,” Clinton said.

Clinton told Christie that while he got “praise and damnation for ignoring the political differences you had and still have with the president,” his efforts to prepare his state for future disasters should win bipartisan support.

“We’ve got to stop waiting for something horrible to happen and then spend ten times as much,” Clinton said.