Christie keeping a low profile in attempt to repair his image
WASHINGTON — Moving cautiously to repair his image, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is maintaining a low profile this weekend as the nation’s governors gather in Washington.
Republican officials have been eager to change the subject as Democrats link Christie’s troubles to vulnerable GOP governors in a challenging election season.
The usually outspoken Christie is scheduled to attend just one public event over the three-day annual meeting. He avoided a media-sponsored forum on Friday, wasn’t granting interviews, won’t attend a White House dinner and was skipping a news conference hosted by the Republican Governors Association, an organization he heads.
Christie arrived at the National Governors Association meeting with his wife, Mary Pat, and a group of aides, declining to respond to reporters’ questions as he entered the ballroom. Before the start of the meeting, Christie chatted with Gov. Steve Beshear, D-Ky., and agreed to a few quick photographs with attendees near the podium.
‘Bum rap’
“I think he’s getting a bum rap,” said Lily Kersh of Arkansas, who took a “selfie” photo with Christie.
Asked by reporters afterward whether the bridge scandal came up in meetings with governors, Christie said: “No, just by you guys.”
Christie is leaving Washington on Sunday to celebrate his daughter’s birthday and focus on an upcoming budget address, according to his office. Advisers privately acknowledge a larger effort to reduce media coverage of ongoing abuse-of-power investigations in New Jersey that threaten to derail his political future. Whenelected to his second term last fall, Christie was considered one of his party’s strongest prospective presidential candidates.
“Gov. Christie may be hiding under a bridge somewhere or stuck in traffic, but the fact that he’s a liability for Republican governors remains readily apparent this weekend,” said Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin, chairman of the Democratic Governors Association.
Republican governors seemed keen on avoiding questions about Christie’s leadership of the organization responsible for electing GOP governors. Republicans face a challenging political map going into the November midterm contests. They are defending 22 of the 36 governor seats up for election, including six in states that President Barack Obama carried twice.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, told reporters that there was “great support” for Christie among fellow GOP governors. “I think for many of us who talked to Chris the last few months, we feel ultimately he’s laid out what the facts are and acted on that