Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is not backing away from the recent remark that he made about First Lady Jill Biden. 

This is because Christie, according to Politico, believes that what he said is "the truth."

In case you missed it, Christie made the remark on Wednesday during the Republican Party's second presidential primary debate.

Christie is among the Republican candidates who are looking to earn the party's presidential nomination in 2024. Christie, though, according to the polls, is near the back of the pack, polling at just a few percentage points.

Christie targets Jill

At one point during the debate, the subject of public schools and teachers' unions came up. And, it was here that Christie made the remark about the first lady.

Christie said:

Let's tell the truth, everybody, about what this is. The public school system is no longer run by the public. It is run by the teachers unions in this country. [American Federation of Teachers President] Randi Weingarten and her crew are absolutely strangling — they are taking the worst of their members and defending them rather than advocating for our kids.

It was here that Christie brought Jill Biden into the picture.

He said:

And, when you have the president of the United States sleeping with a member of the teachers union, there is no chance that you can take the stranglehold away from the teachers union every day. They have an advocate inside the White House every day for the worst of their teachers, not for our students to be the best they can be. A president of the United States has to take on the teacher's union.

What Christie is referring to here is the fact that Jill Biden, despite being the first lady, has kept her teaching job at Northern Virginia Community College, where she teaches English and writing. Christie is clearly suggesting that there is a conflict of interest here.

Christie stands firm

Christie has received some criticism for the remark. And, on Thursday, he addressed the remark publicly.

Christie did so during an appearance on CNN. There, host Poppy Harlow asked Christie whether or not he stood behind the remark that he made about Jill Biden.

"Well that’s the truth, isn’t it?" Christie said.

At this point, Harlow read some of the criticism that Christie received, including criticism from the likes of U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who called Christie's remarks "disgusting" and "misogynistic." But, still, Christie did not back down.

“I am standing by the wording,” he said. “Being called disgusting by a hypocrite like Ocasio-Cortez is the highlight of my day so far.