Chris Christie’s most confrontational moments – video round-up
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/09/chris-christies-most-confrontational-moments Version 0 of 1. New Jersey governor Chris Christie on Thursday attempted to bluster his way out of the scandal over lane closures on the Goerge Washington bridge, which links his state with New York, declaring that he knew nothing of the plot to punish a political rival. In a two-hour press conference, some of his staunchest denials came when facing down accusations that he was a “bully,” and that his administration used thuggish practices to retaliate against other officials who wouldn’t fall in line. It’s easy to pin the “bully” label on Christie: at his best he’s merely blunt, but at his worst he’s downright callous, as some of his interactions with constituents, journalists and tourists can attest. The video record speaks for itself. On journalists Christie has a bit of a bad romance with the press. While the media generally enjoys disseminating examples of his candor, he’s been known to get confrontational with reporters at events. That includes asking them rhetorically, “Are you stupid?” when they stray off topic at press conferences: On public safety Christie occasionally deployed his special brand of candor for the public good. The year before Sandy struck, another hurricane, Irene, was bearing down on the Jersey shore. Apparently, some of Christie’s constituents hadn’t heeded his warning to take shelter, so he delivered this very blunt message: On bipartisanship Christie might be a proud establishment Republican, but that doesn’t mean he’ll tolerate your partisan nonsense. Shortly after superstorm Sandy laid waste to New Jersey in October 2012, Christie was seen accompanying President Barack Obama, a Democrat, on a tour of the damage. Christie later did a media hit on Fox News to tout his state’s cleanup efforts. When the show’s host, Steve Doocy, inquired as to whether the governor would be appearing with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney as well, Christie was less than thrilled. “I could care less about any of that stuff,” Christie said. On Jersey Shore There was once a dark time in America’s history where we were obsessed with an MTV show called Jersey Shore. It featured a cast of over-tanned, over-buffed, and overbearing New Jerseyans cavorting around the state’s beach district, and played up several of the state’s less pleasant stereotypes. Christie wasn’t pleased with the image Jersey Shore was giving his state, and has dedicated his life to setting the record straight. On hecklers As noble a cause as Christie’s anti-Shore crusade might have been, he didn’t always practice what he preached. In July 2012, he got into a confrontation with a heckler in Seaside Heights. Naturally, TMZ got hold of the footage: On voter disagreement A video search for “Chris Christie town halls” will yield a veritable goldmine. The forums are a chance both for Christie to push his initiatives to the public, and for New Jersey residents to voice their problems with said initiatives. No matter how angry his constituents get, Christie stubbornly sticks to his guns, sometimes confronting them with facts, sometimes with the occasional burst of profanity. There are many, many, many heated exchanges out there between Chris Christie and his constituents, but this one stands out: What moments did we leave out? Tell us in the comments below. Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning. |