New Jersey Governor Chris Christie acknowledges that he is overweight, but says he doesn’t see how that will affect his ability to do his job, and will certainly not have an affect on a run for presidency later in his career.
But some say that with his health at risk, it’s a very real possibility that he would be unable to perform under the stresses of running a country.
“That’s ridiculous,” Christie said. “I don’t know what the basis for that is. 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.”
The governor says he’s never considered having gastric bypass surgery because of the risks, and attributes his size to his busy schedule, saying he often grabs food on the go without thinking about healthier options. But he does acknowledge that his weight has become an issue, and says he’s working on bettering himself. As for the presidency, it will have to wait; for now, he says his job in New Jersey is far from done and he wants to finish what he started with the Sandy cleanup.
“I’ve been living with it for a long time, and I’m going to try to get better,” Christie said. “And if I can get better, that’ll be great for me and for my family and for the public who likes me … it’s something that’s not easy. If it were easy, I’d already have it fixed.”