Chris Christie Commends His Self-Restraint After Getting in a Heckler's Face: 'I Didn't Dump the Nachos On Him'
Leave it to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to find the upside to a tense, nacho-related confrontation.
The embattled politician made headlines in recent days when video emerged of him getting in the face of a fan while cradling a bowl of nachos at Sunday’s Brewers-Cubs game at Miller Park in Milwaukee.
Now, Christie is patting himself on the back for the restraint he showed during the exchange.
“[For] those of you who know me, I think I was fairly restrained,” Christie said Wednesday during a news conference in Trenton, reports NJ.com. “I didn’t dump the nachos on him or anything, which was an option.”
Christie, 54, mockingly told the fan “you’re a big shot” in an exchange captured on video and widely shared via Twitter. It was the second time in a two-week period that the governor had an awkward encounter at a MLB event: On July 18 he was mercilessly booed after catching a foul ball at a Mets game.
Even so, the governor — whose son Andrew works for the Brewers organization — was defiant when asked whether he’s “swearing off” big league games for good.
“No, I’ll go more,” he retorted.
The fan, Brad Joseph, shared a lengthy Facebook post about the incident, apologizing for yelling “You suck” at the governor while also offering additional details about the heated exchange. Joseph, who said he is a registered Republican and voted for Donald Trump, said he does not apologize for calling Christie a “hypocrite.”
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Christie, meanwhile, further defended his conduct during the confrontation — which comes just weeks after he was sharply criticized for images that showed him lounging on a New Jersey state beach he had closed to the public over the July 4 weekend because of a budget-related government shutdown.
“When I’m at a baseball game with my son on a Sunday afternoon, I do have a right to be able to sit there and enjoy the game,” Christie said, per NJ.com.
“The fact is I’ve made this my policy over eight years: I will take a certain amount of abuse. If you’re a public official, you have to,” he said. “But usually it’s one. You get one shot to call me a name or curse me out. And I gave him that shot.”
