Trenton,NJ – New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says he is “more than a little” overweight — but fit enough to be in the White House.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
The Republican governor was asked about his weight problem during an interview with Barbara Walters for her “10 Most Fascinating People” special Wednesday night on ABC.
Walters told the governor some people say he is too heavy to be president one day.
“That’s ridiculous,” Christie responded. “I don’t know what the basis for that is.”
Walters said worries about his health were the reason for the concern. The governor then pointed to his widely praised handling of Superstorm Sandy, which has sent his popularity soaring.
“I’ve done this job pretty well, and I think people watched me for the last number of weeks and Hurricane Sandy doing 18-hour days and getting right back up the next day and still being just as effective in the job,” he said. “So I don’t really think that would be a problem.”
Christie had considered a run for president in 2012. Last month, he announced that he would seek re-election as governor, saying he wanted to lead the state through its post-storm rebuilding and that the one year left in his first term wouldn’t be enough to finish the job.
The governor has battled a weight problem for many years and often jokes about his struggles. At a news briefing last month, when asked about Twinkies maker Hostess shutting down, he went on a riff about not taking the bait. “This is a setup!” he jokingly exclaimed.
When Walters started the discussion by telling Christie he is a “little overweight,” he responded: “More than a little.”
Asked why, he answered: “If I could figure that out, I’d fix it.”
The governor was also asked about his weight during an interview with Oprah Winfrey in January, and how he deals with people joking about him being fat. He said he had developed “a shell about it.”
Voting for christie means I’d need to like his running mate as president, because christie is a heart attack candidate!
William Howard Taft was less fat than Christie but still managed to get stuck in the White House bathtub on his first night there. I think Secret Service will have to order a new bathtub for Christie and a special lift like used in the Bronx Zoo to help him get in and out of the tub.
Asked why, he answered: “If I could figure that out, I’d fix it.”….
Yo…Eat less. Exercise more.
A fat person just doesn’t seem very Presidential so I doubt that he could win without shedding quite a few pounds over the next 3 years.
at lest he he is honest this time he can’t run……..
If the president can be a chain smoker, then I’m not really sure what the issue is with being overweight.
#3 this is the second narishgeret for you today. This is the problem with the American society that we vote on appearance instead of substance. The presidential process became a Hollywood audition!
Can’t figure out a weight problem and wants to lead the United States? He doesn’t even have a primary chance after backstabing the republicans at the convention and liking obama at the sandy recovery. He is a emtee big shot
Christie cream ur weight is not the issue. Ur pondering to obummer several days b4 the most import election in American history is. You will never go higher than you are right now
I don’t know, I am voting Huntsman. But I do hope that Christie might be in the top picks for VP!
His weight doesn’t disqualify him, the fact that he’s left of center does!
The public is very health conscious these days, especially toward candidates running for higher office. Christie is almost 50 years of age, and with his morbid obesity, and his high pressure job, he is a prime candidate for a stroke, or a heart attack. The American people endured having unhealthy Presidents in the White House before (i.e. Eisenhower, LBJ),and it is not something to be taken lightly.
Yes, whether right or wrong, there is weight-based discrimination in this country, even in the private sector (let alone the political arena). As finewine8 showed oh-so-sensitively, fat people are perceived as not having the willpower and intelligence to realize that there’s something wrong with them and to fix it. I’m slightly overweight, and yes, I try to keep fit with as much exercise as I can and portion control (with varying success), but no, genetic tendencies to obesity were NOT invented by the chronically fat and lazy.
Personally, while I don’t have an opinion on Christie ’16 yet, I think he’s an awesome governor (and to the person who talked about his pandering to Obama, I am assuming that you do not live in the New York area. Nobody who saw/experienced the devastation of that storm would grudge Christie ANYTHING he could do to help his constituents, and I personally like the fact that he stepped out of his comfort zone for the sake of his constituents).
To #21 -Chanala- I don’t go for the excuse that “there is a genetic tendency for obesity”. The vast majority of obesity occurs, because people are addicted to food. Recently, a noted cardiologist who performed many heart bypass procedures, stated that the reason that the latter procedure was necessary, was because people are literally eating themselves to death. People are addicted to food, in the same manner that they are addicted to alcohol, cigarettes, and other substances. With millions of people starving throughout the world, it really annoys me when I see people with large mid sections, and other areas of their anatomy.