New Jersey Governor Chris Christie joined a long line of Republican figures today in blasting failed presidential candidate Mitt Romney for his now infamous 'gifts' comments.
In an interview with a local TV station the always bombastic Christie called Romney a 'coward' and a 'loser' for failing to take responsibility for his thumping loss in the presidential election.
Romney was caught on tape earlier this week telling donors that President Obama won reelection because of "extraordinary financial gifts" to blacks, Latinos, and young people.
Today Christie added his voice to the chorus of potential Republican 2016 candidates lambasting Romney for those racially charged remarks:
"My mother told me growing up that excuses are the nails we use to build our house of failure. With his new 'gifts' excuse Governor Romney now has enough nails to build a monument."
"Let me tell you something. We've got a lot of black and Latino veterans, firefighters, police, and EMTs in my state. And its a fair bet to say most of them voted for Obama."
"These people don't vote Democratic to get 'free gifts'. They risk their lives every day so the rest of us are safe. And they've given more to this country than we can ever give back."
Et tu, Christie?
Christie then eviscerated Romney for suggesting that his loss was due primarily to factors outside his control:
"The truth is the Romney campaign had a lot of problems. It underspent during the summer. It had no Bain counter-attack strategy. Its GOTV operation was understaffed. And - despite my efforts - we had trouble selling a unified narrative."
"Only a coward - a real fucking coward - would blame hard working Americans for his own failures. Romney lost young people because of social issues. And he lost Latinos because he went off the reservation on immigration during the primaries."
"He made mistakes and he lost because of them. A real man would admit that. But he's not a man. He's just a loser. He lost the election. And now he's lost my respect. Simple as that."
Christie was one of Romney's most high-profile surrogate during the campaign and gave the keynote address at the Republican National Convention.
