New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Monday that if the U.S. experiences another terrorist attack, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., will have to answer to Congress given his past opposition to extending the USA Patriot Act.

"And that's why what Rand Paul has done to make this country weaker and more vulnerable is a terrible thing, and for him to raise money off of it is disgraceful," Christie said Monday on MSNBC. "It's disgraceful."

Paul's opposition to the Patriot Act forced parts of the law to briefly expire earlier this year, before Congress decided on reforms to the law. Christie, in contrast, boasted that he was the only presidential candidate to use the law in his state.

Christie defended the law by saying the threat posed by the Islamic State is a huge concern for voters, and blamed Paul for disrupting a tool that can be used to ensure people's safety.

"We're going to look back on this, and he should be in front of hearings in front of Congress if there's another attack," Christie said of Paul. "Not the director of the FBI or the CIA."

Christie, who announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination last week, called on the U.S. to "arm our allies, train them and it's their fight," in order to defeat the Islamic State.

According to a RealClearPolitics average of polls, Christie is polling tenth with 3.8 percent. Christie has said his experiences in New Jersey have made him a better candidate than he would have been four years ago, and told the panelists on MSNBC that he is "a better person" now than he was a year ago.