New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie prides himself on ridiculing the media. This is the same guy who once held a two-hour press conference to explain himself in regards to the Bridgegate scandal. He hadn’t held a press conference in two months. It was like he was gorging on the media. Who did he think was going to scribble down his every word — non-reporters?
But beating up on the press is a pastime that Christie keeps repeating.
Even the International Business Times referred to his speech before the New Jersey press corps this week as “unusually biting.” In his classic bullying, big mouth manner, he told reporters in a comedy routine that he just “just doesn’t give a shit” about them.
Christie added, “Anything that gets me off this fucking stage next year, I’m willing to do anything.”
At CPAC this year, he couldn’t wait to get on stage and take a gigantic bite out of the New York Times. “I’m giving up the New York Times for lent,” he told his interviewer Laura Ingraham, who cracked, “That’s not acceptable. You have to give up something you will actually miss.”
He also informed the Grey Lady that he’s still standing, despite what he says is the publication’s obviously intent to destroy him.
“The elite folks from the media, who cover me every day — I mean, understand where I come from every day. I’m in New Jersey; I have The New York Times in my media gaggle every day. And when you do things like I’ve done in New Jersey to take on a lot of these special interest that they support, they just want to kill you. That’s what they try to do to me every day and here’s the bad news for them; here I am, and I’m still standing. I’m going to continue to do it, because what matters more is the fact that I wake up every morning knowing how to fight for the people of my state. That’s why I don’t care what they write about me in The New York Times. They can keep it. I don’t subscribe by the way.”
Attacking the press tends to play well with the public — who doesn’t hate reporters? Think Newt Gingrich in most every presidential debate of the last election — he, too, got a real thrill out of slicing up the media. Especially since it distracted people from his long-shot candidacy.
In 2012, when GOP debate moderator John King, who cheated on his ex-wife Dana Bash with a CNN intern, asked Gingrich about his second wife’s accusation that Gingrich wanted her to accept his affair as a part of their marriage, he flipped out.
“I think the destructive, vicious, negative nature of much of the news media makes it harder to govern this country, harder to attract decent people to run for public office,” he scolded the TV journalist. “And I am appalled that you would begin a presidential debate on a topic like that.”
Unfortunately for the media — not to mention King — the audience ate it right up.