PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie returned to the presidential campaign Sunday, touting his handling of the massive snow storm that socked his state over the weekend. But by Sunday morning, that snowstorm was a part of Mr. Christie’s sales pitch in the presidential race.
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Mary Pat Christie was quick to say she’s “not in charge” of the campaign but with the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary fast approaching, she has absorbed the majority of her husband’s busy campaign schedule as her own and is stumping and fielding on-the-spot questions from voters.
He brushed aside poll numbers showing his approval ratings in New Jersey had slipped badly, and said he had shown in the blizzard what “strong, effective, leadership can do for a state in the midst of a crisis”.
Christie also used the opportunity to knock Sen. People were driving around the streets yesterday morning, ” Christie said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe. While the already-back-in-New-Hampshire Chris Christie was lambasting Stein in particular for “making it up”, his state’s residents were still dealing with closed roads, continued flooding after a storm surge “worse than Sandy”, and extensive damage.
At least 18 deaths were blamed on the storm, resulting from vehicle crashes, shoveling snow and hypothermia.
He will continue to campaign in New Hampshire on Monday before heading to Iowa later this week ahead of the February 1 caucuses.
Christie also gave a brief update on storm response at a press conference in Sayrevillle, New Jersey Saturday.
“When you start looking for another job, your current employer gets a little miffed, and that’s what’s happened here in New Jersey”, Christie told CNN’s Jake Tapper Sunday on “State of the Union”.
Christie gave a pointed response when he was asked about the announcement this week by U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro that New Jersey received only $15 million from a $1 billion pool of federal disaster-aid grants because it had submitted one of the “weaker” applications nationwide.
CHRISTIE: Well, that’s a difference between a United States senator who has never been responsible for anything and a governor who is responsible for everything that goes on in your state.
Christie – who previous year withdrew his support for the standards, which are anathema to many conservatives – said Common Core was “gone”.
And he ended one briefing by poking fun at a bill he signed into law last week, allowing New Jersey teenagers to offer their snow-shoveling services around town. Education officials described the changes as tweaks rather than an across-the-board dismantling.
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“If you stay inside and stay warm, you’re going to be fine”, he said.
