Conservative

Pulliam: Christie’s response to heckler foreshadows presidential weakness

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s boisterous personality was in the spotlight last Thursday.  At a speech in Belmar, New Jersey, Christie responded to a heckler in the audience.  This episode clearly shows two things: the strengths of a Christie presidential run with his no-nonsense demeanor, as well as his weaknesses due to his gaffe-prone and overly aggressive style.

In the end, that weakness could cost him support during a presidential run.

The heckler challenged Christie during a speech he was giving by holding up a large white sign that read “Get Sandy families back in their homes.  Finish the job.”  As Christie began to speak, the heckler vocally challenged Christie on his handling of Hurricane Sandy.

In typical Christie style, he responded to the heckler with some tough words including “I’d be more than happy to have a debate with you anytime you’d like, guy, because somebody like you doesn’t know a damn thing about what you’re talking about except to stand up and show off when the cameras are here.  I’ve been here when the cameras aren’t here, buddy, and done the work.”

He continued with “Get your 15 minutes of fame and then maybe take your jacket off, roll up your sleeves and do something for the people of this state.”



Christie’s engagement with the heckler garnered applause from the crowd he was addressing.  This response indicates what has long been known about Christie — his combativeness is refreshing in an environment full of career politicians who do not want to stand out and would rather stay closely tied to their party brand and stances.  

This independent style can be very appealing to voters, especially on a national scale in the lead up to 2016.  In a scenario where a more typical politician would back off, or say the politically correct and safe thing, Christie engaged in what would come across as a straightforward and honest response.

However, this style has its risks.  In the situation on Thursday, Christie saved himself by focusing the attention of the audience back on himself and how he had been there for his state when times were tough, regardless of fame or recognition.  He appealed to a higher principle of measuring a person’s character when no one is looking, which seemed to play out well with his audience.

This move was impressive considering how off the cuff it was, but he had a home court advantage. He is a relatively popular governor speaking in his own state.  On a national scale, all eyes will be watching at all times and he might not be able to rely on his candid style.

With the pressure of a presidential run, along with the ridiculous hours and little sleep a candidate has to deal with, his boisterous and genuine style is suddenly has the potential to commit damaging political gaffes.

    Imagine if this heckler was at a rally in an important swing state, like Florida, in September of 2016.  Christie’s campaign would have been going strong for over a year at this point in the race.  Again, Christie responds to the heckler, except this time, he starts with “You don’t know a damn thing about what you’re talking about.  So sit down and shut up.”  At this point, the crowd could easily turn on Christie before he could save himself like he did on Thursday and the media would pick up and carry the gaffe all the way until Election Day.

Simply put, Christie’s style is appealing, but gaffe-prone.  On a national stage, gaffes stick and hurt, a lot.  Just look at former presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s comment about how 47 percent of Americans rely on the government and pay no income taxes during his presidential run in 2012.  He could not shake this gaffe and it seriously hindered his chances of victory.  

Christie would probably be a good president, but his high risk, high reward approach could sink him.  The GOP would be unwise to gamble the presidency with someone who could lose the campaign with one outburst when safer candidates are on the table.

Chris Pulliam is a sophomore policy studies and political science major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at [email protected].





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