Chris Christie skirts immigration discussion during trip to Mexico

Don't ask Gov. Chris Christie, R-N.J., about federal immigration policy - he says he'll only answer questions about it "if and when" he announces a 2016 presidential bid.

In Mexico for a three-day trade mission, Christie was asked Thursday about his position on immigration reform and border security. He didn't take the bait, saying he'd discuss the issue "if and when I become a candidate for president of the United States," according to the Associated Press.

"If that happens, then I will articulate a full position on it and then you guys can pick it apart and praise it or damn it however you like," he added. "But until that time, that's not my job and it's not my role. And I understand everybody wants to start a campaign that I haven't even decided I want to be in right now. I'm just not going to do it."

Immigration policy and border security have long been a radioactive topic among the Republican base, which has accused President Obama of failing to secure the border and offering amnesty to undocumented immigrants currently living in the U.S. That concern has only been heightened recently by the influx of Central American minors crossing the southern border into the United States.

If he runs for president, Christie will be pressured to stake out a hard line on immigration to satiate GOP voters in the primary. But he's touted his cross-party appeal as one of his selling points, and he'll need to keep his tone soft enough to avoid spoiling his stock with Latino voters in the general election.

Given the difficulty of threading that needle, it's no great surprise that Christie didn't exactly leap at the chance to opine on the issue.

The governor's trip was billed as an opportunity to promote economic partnerships between New Jersey and Mexico, but it also provided Christie an opportunity to polish his foreign policy credentials ahead of a potential presidential bid.

While he was there, Christie was asked about his smashmouth style of politics, and whether he saw fit to rein in the bombast during his trips abroad.

"I've always thought that my leadership style has been portrayed rather myopically. You know, I have more than one club in the bag and I've demonstrated that over time," he replied, according to the Associated Press.

He acknowledged that people like to focus on the "more flamboyant stuff," but he added, "It doesn't mean that's the way I am nearly all of the time. And so when I'm down here and I'm in a context where a certain measure of behavior is necessary, then that's the way I act."