Fresh off his cameo on Saturday Night Live, where he showed off his knowledge of all things fleece and quoted the Patron Saint of New Jersey, Bruce Springsteen, Governor Chris Christie is now attempting to quell the backlash against him within his own party. The New Jersey governor is making calls to GOP supporters in an attempt to rationalize his controversial support of President Obama in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, according to The New York Times.
Just one week before the election earlier this month, Governor Christie was praising the President’s response to Hurricane Sandy, and his willingness to provide federal aid to New Jersey. Christie called the President’s efforts “outstanding,” adding in a separate interview that “the president has been all over this and deserves great credit.” In the aftermath of the storm, President Obama and Governor Christie toured the devastated Jersey Shore region, where entire houses and popular tourist attractions were completely washed away.
A recent Quinnipiac poll showed Christie with a lead against the President and Mayor Bloomberg among New York voters when asked who did the best job of handling the Hurricane Sandy recovery effort. New York voters may view the governor favorably but his own party is not so kind.
While the Governor was working to acquire much needed federal aid for his storm-stricken state, he may have also tarnished a few relationships within his own party, whose support he will certainly need if 2016 presidential rumors are to be believed. Christie explained to the media brusehd aside the issue in the days after the Hurricane, saying, “if the president of the United States does something good, I’m going to say he did something good and give him credit for it." And while this election is over, the next one might show whether the adage “elephants never forget” is true.