The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is supporting a petition that asks Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie to apologize for his comment on Sunday, reported Politico. Christie appeared on CNN's "State of the Union" and, although not naming it directly, implied that he would like the punch the AFT in the face.

"During your first term as governor you were fond of saying you can treat bullies one of two ways, quote, you can either sidle up to them or you can punch them in the face," said host Jake Tapper. "You said, I like to punch them in the face. At the national level, who deserves a punch in the face?"

"The national teachers union who's already endorsed Hillary Clinton 16, 17 months before the election," said Christie, referring to the AFT. "They're not for education for our children; they're for greater membership, greater benefits, greater pay for their members, and they are the single most destructive force in public education in America."

The teacher's petition was launched earlier this week and has over 30,000 signatures as of Wednesday evening. The petition condemns his support of violent discourse and asks him to apologize and "commit to treating teachers and our unions with respect and courtesy, as befits an elected leader."

"Teachers unions aren't some faceless entity - our unions are made up of individual teachers, who go to work every day dedicated to helping children succeed," the petition says. "Chris Christie seems to think that leadership means threatening violence and creating a culture of intimidation. We couldn't disagree more."

Both Randi Weingarten, president of the AFT, and Wendell Steinhauer, president of the New Jersey Education Association, have publicly disapproved of Christie's comments, reported the Huffington Post.