Christie: ObamaCare's Medicaid penalty is 'extortion

Small side note observation: You ever notice how Chris Christie isn't afraid to have Q&A sessions with reporters and the public?

Via Politico:

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie labeled the Medicaid penalty in the Affordable Care Act “extortion,” saying that he was pleased the Supreme Court ruled against that kind of approach “even when done by the president of the United States.”

“First of all, I was glad that the Supreme Court ruled that extortion is still illegal in America — and that’s a relief because Obamacare, on Medicaid to the states, was extortion,” he said Monday during a question and answer period after a speech at the D.C.-based Brookings Institution.

WATCH:

A provision in President Obama's Affordable Care Act would have forced states to forgo federal Medicaid funding if they didn't expand the program.

“It essentially said, ‘You expand your program to where we tell you, and if you don’t, we’re taking the rest of your money away.’ That’s extortion. It was a whole bunch of nice words in a bill, but it was extortion,” Christie said.