During a Monday morning appearance on the MSNBC's Morning Joe program, New Jersey governor Chris Christie was asked by panelist Katty Kay about his role in the possible “creation of a culture” in his administration that led to the Bridgegate lane closure incident, which took place in early September of 2013.
The 2016 GOP presidential candidate responded to the obnoxious question by instead calling the incident “an exception, not the rule,” and stating that people in the media should have stood up and said: “We're sorry, governor, for having jumped to conclusions;” and “not only have accused you, but convicted you.”
The segment began with Kay asking Christie a question she undoubtedly wouldn't put to Democratic presidential front-runner and scandal-plagued Hillary Clinton:
If you were running against yourself, wouldn't you say: “This is somebody who surrounds himself with people to whom the subliminal message is: 'We will do whatever it takes to make sure that we are in the right position politically, even if that means shutting down bridges?'
“I don't necessarily want to know about it. I'm not going to talk about it, but that you allowed a culture in your office that would allow that kind of thing to happen?”
Christie replied: “That's where the people who accuse you of doing something wrong, when they're disappointed and find out that you didn't, that's their refuge.
“Remember in the beginning,” he continued, “it was: 'He did this. He directed it. He's this kind of guy.' Then all of a sudden, you're not. Then they say: 'OK, now what do we do?'
“So instead of just standing up and saying what they should say, which is 'We're sorry, governor, for having jumped to conclusions; we're sorry for having prejudged this; we're sorry for having not only accused you, but convicted you,' they say: 'Oh, well, all right; now it's a culture.'”
The governor continued:
It wasn't a culture because if it was, Katty, there would have been a lot of these incidents. There wouldn't have been 100 Democrats, elected Democrats, supporting me for re-election.
I wouldn't have gotten over a third of the Republican vote and 51 percent of the Hispanic vote if this was a pattern. It's not.
"Exceptions happen; accidents, mistakes happen,” he stated. “You still have to be accountable for them, but it does not mean there was a culture because if there was, there would be more than just one person in the governor's office. That's called an exception, not the rule.”
The problems began on Monday, Sept. 9, 2013, when two of three eastbound toll lanes on the George Washington Bridge were closed to morning rush hour traffic, which was forced to use crowded state and interstate expressways until the road was re-opened the following Friday.
As NewsBusters previously reported, NBC's evening newscast devoted four minutes and 55 seconds to the “scandal” when it broke on January 8.
According to Scott Whitlock, a senior news analyst for the Media Research Center (the parent company of the NewsBusters website):
In less than 48 hours, ABC, CBS and NBC deluged viewers with coverage of Chris Christie's traffic jam scandal, devoting a staggering 88 minutes to the story.
In comparison, these same news outlets over the last six months have allowed a scant two minutes for the latest on Barack Obama's Internal Revenue Service scandal. The disparity in less than two days is 44 to one.
“From Wednesday through Friday morning, the latest on Christie's Traffic-Gate led 11 out of 13 news programs,” Whitlock noted. “NBC produced the heaviest coverage, over 34 minutes. CBS followed close behind with more than 30 minutes. ABC came in third with just under 23 minutes.”
However, when the Republican governor was cleared of any wrongdoing in the matter, “ABC and CBS punted on the story and didn't cover it in their Thursday night newscasts,” MRC news analyst Curtis Houck reported.
“NBC Nightly News did cover the story, however, but only in the form of a news brief that lasted for 38 seconds,” he added, in which then-anchor Brian Williams stated:
A major headline this evening in the federal investigation into New Jersey governor Chris Christie and his administration.
Federal officials tell NBC News that, after nine months, investigators have concluded there is no evidence that governor Christie had advance knowledge of any politically motivated scheme to shut down lanes on the George Washington Bridge, which is the world's busiest span.
It wouldn't be wise for Christie to hold his breath while waiting for an apology from the people who used the incident to attack his popularity or hoping the press would pose a similar question to Hillary Clinton. There isn't a shade of purple deep enough to match the color of his face if he tried.
