Politics

Christie clashes with ‘Occupy’ protesters at Romney rally

Will Rahn Senior Editor
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EXETER, N.H. — At a Sunday evening campaign rally for former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie clashed with “Occupy” protesters and called President Obama “the most pessimistic man I’ve ever seen.”

Christie, whose presence drew thousands to a local high school, said Obama was intentionally looking to exploit Americans’ anxiety and frustration with their government in “the most cynical re-election strategy you could ever think of.”

“He doesn’t care that you’re angry,” he said. “He just wants you to be angry at somebody else.”

When a group of Occupy Wall Street protesters tried to shout him down, Christie, who is well known for confronting his critics at town hall meetings, was happy to play along.

“Christie kills jobs,” the protesters chanted.

“Oh really?” Christie shouted, much to the crowd’s delight. “Something’s going down tonight, but it’s not going to be jobs, sweetheart.”

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Christie said the protesters were confused by Obama’s failure to deliver on his campaign promises, and were victims of his attempts to divide Americans.

“I have a message for you, Mr. President. This is the type of disoriented anger your cynicism and your division is causing in our country,” Christie said. “Bring our country together — stop dividing it.”

“On second thought, Mr. President, if you’re up there in the family quarters of the White House, put your feet up and don’t worry about it,” he continued. “Mitt Romney is going to bring America together.”

Romney leads the Republican field in New Hampshire by a commanding 17-point margin, according to a WMUR/University of New Hampshire poll released late Sunday.

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