Chris Christie, New Jersey's Republican nominee for governor, said Thursday that Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine should quit hinting at his weight with unflattering ads and "man up and say I'm fat." Christie declared that he will be "a big fat winner" on Election Day in an interview on Don Imus's New York-based radio show Thursday morning in which the former U.S. Attorney repeatedly mentioned his weight.
"I'm pretty fat Don," Christie declared.
"You weigh?" Imus asked.
"550 pounds," Christie jokingly responded.
The Republican nominee's weight became an issue in September when Corzine launched a television ad that closes with a shot of Christie slowly stepping out of a car. Earlier in the ad, Christie is accused of "throwing his weight around" to get out of a traffic ticket stemming from a car accident that injured a motorcyclist.
Corzine surrogates have also frequently hinted at Christie's weight, and when asked if he thinks Christie is fat during an editorial board meeting earlier this month with the Press of Atlantic City, the bald governor responded: "Am I bald?"
Asked about the television ad, Christie said it was "just silly" and "beneath the office" Corzine holds.
"If you're going to do it, at least man up and say I'm fat," he said. "Afterwards he wusses out and says 'no, no, no. I didn't mean that I don't know what you're talking about.' Man up. If you say I'm fat, I'm fat. Let's go. Let's talk about it."
Imus later joked that even though many of New Jersey voters are overweight, Christie should be setting a better example. "I am setting an example Don," Christie responded. "We have to spur our economy. Dunkin Donuts, International House of Pancakes, those people need to work too."
Christie also worked a weight-related remark into his pledge to cut taxes.
"If I don't do it, you are going to unmercifully kick my big fat rear-end all over the country for the next four years, so I have a lot of incentive," he said.