Chris Christie gets candid in profanity-laced tirade in wake of Bridgegate heat

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/21/chris-christie-profanity-laced-tirade-roast

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Shadow presidential candidate Chris Christie deployed the full strength of the personal charm for which he is known at a New Jersey roast on Wednesday, facetiously inviting one journalist to “clean the shit out of your ears” and another to “get the fuck away from me”.

The remarks, first reported by Bloomberg News and apparently made in the spirit of devilish good fun known to characterize such gatherings, pertained to the closure of lanes last year on the George Washington bridge between New York and New Jersey.

A former Christie high school friend has pleaded guilty to federal charges in the case and two former close associates have been indicted.

The roast was an annual evening event attended by journalists and devoted to goosing the governor. A few years ago the event gave the world a well-received web video in which Christie and then-Newark Mayor Cory Booker competed to pull off the better good deed.

This year there was no video, but plenty of talk about Christie’s plunging poll numbers and the so-called Bridgegate scandal.

“We don’t give a shit about this or any of you,” Christie joked, telling a journalist to “open your eyes” and “clean the shit out of your ears”.

New Jersey voters have indicated that they do give a shit about the lane closures, which prosecutors say were politically motivated. Christie’s favorability rating tanked by double digits after the scandal broke.

Turning to the New Jersey legislative correspondents club president, Christie reportedly said, “This is a guy who says he doesn’t know what I’m doing every day. Then just get the fuck away from me then if you don’t know what I’m doing.”

Christie spokesman Kevin Roberts said on Thursday night: “All of the songs and acts of the night, including the governor’s obvious parody of himself, were in jest and along with the spirit of the evening.

“This is in keeping with what the dinner is about: bringing people together off-the-clock for a night of comedy and self-deprecation in support of the Press Foundation’s scholarship programs. That anyone would misrepresent the traditional lighthearted nature of the event is a disservice to everyone involved.”

Christie has not declared a presidential candidacy, but he has kept up steady attendance at key gatherings for Republican hopefuls and hosted town hall gatherings in multiple trips this year to New Hampshire.