Twitter blew up Thursday morning as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) faced reporters to address the George Washington Bridge traffic jam his staffers purposely orchestrated last fall, with a consensus on social media that the possible presidential candidate had been hurt politically.
The Democratic National Committee’s communications director, Mo Elleithee, mocked Christie for making the press conference about himself.
One journalist noted President Obama has used the word “we” more in reaction to past scandals.
Christie accepted responsibility for his staffers’ actions. His deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, helped arrange for two lanes to close on the bridge near Fort Lee, N.J., last year, according to emails released Wednesday. Those emails showed Kelly worked with others in an act of revenge against that town’s mayor — a Democrat — who didn’t endorse Christie in last year’s election.
During the press conference, Christie announced that he had fired Kelly Thursday morning. He also said he would prevent his former campaign manager, Bill Stepien, from becoming the head of the state’s Republican Party. Stepien was also involved in the scandal.
Christie denied that the effort to close the lanes was an act of political retribution. He said he didn’t think the Fort Lee mayor ever did anything wrong.
One person Christie didn’t mention was his press secretary, Michael Drewniak, whose name appeared in the email exchanges released Wednesday.
In early September, Christie’s office had said the lanes on the bridge had closed because a traffic study had been conducted.
A former press secretary at the DNC took that claim, and said the U.S. attorney’s office should investigate Christie.
Some called Christie’s Thursday remarks a “mea culpa,” but the DNC’s Elleithee didn’t think so.
Rep. Michael Grimm (R-N.Y.), on the other hand, thought Christie did well.
Journalists asked if the scandal shows whether Christie is a bully or a micromanager. Christie rejected those accusations.
The consensus on social media is that this incident will hurt Christie politically.
One person summarized the timeline of the Christie presser.