NJ Gov. Christie lashes out at ‘know-nothing’ Romney staffers

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie on Tuesday lashed out at “know-nothing, disgruntled” Romney staffers who he said were the sources of reports he turned down Mitt Romney’s request to campaign in Pennsylvania on Sunday.

Christie said he had a prior agreement with Romney that he would not attend any more campaign events if Hurricane Sandy hit New Jersey.

“So all this other noise, I think, are coming from know-nothing, disgruntled Romney staffers who, you know, don’t like the fact that I said nice things about the president of the United States,” Christie said at a news conference on Tuesday. “Well, that is too bad for them.”

The Romney campaign did not offer comment about Christie’s remarks.

Before Sandy made landfall, Christie said he had a conversation with Romney about how he would be unable to help the Republican in the lead-up to Election Day if the hurricane hit his state. And Christie said Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, fully understood Christie’s situation.

“He has been a governor. He knows,” Christie said. “And he told me last Sunday night that he expected no other political travel or help from me over the course of the remaining time between then and the election if in fact the storm hit the way it was projected.”

Hurricane Sandy devastated the New Jersey shoreline, causing power outages, battering the state’s famous boardwalk and leaving thousands homeless in both the Garden State and New York.

Christie praised President Obama’s response to the storm last week and toured areas of New Jersey with Obama. The effusive comments about Obama coming less than a week before the election made waves, and might have helped Obama in the campaign’s final days.

Christie said Monday that he will vote for Romney, and at Tuesday’s press conference said he would have been happy to stump for Romney if the storm had missed the state.

“If it missed us, I would have been happy to go out on the road and help him,” he said. “But it didn’t.”

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