New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) emphatically denied Thursday that he was a political bully who used his position for intimidation.
Asked by a reporter if the revelations that his staff had been involved in lane closures on the George Washington Bridge confirmed perceptions that he was a bully, Christie said it did not.
“No, I’m not,” Christie said. “But politics ain’t beanbag. Everybody in the country who engages in politics knows that.”
“On the other hand, that’s very, very different from saying, you know, that someone is a bully. I have very heated discussions and arguments with people in my own party and on the other side of is the aisle. I feel passionately about issues. I don’t hide my emotions from people. I am not a focus-group-tested, blow-dried candidate or governor. Now, that has always made some people, as you know, uneasy. Some people like that style. Some people don’t.”
“I am who I am,” he said, “but I am not a bully.”
