Last weekend, the New Hampshire Union Leader endorsed New Jersey governor Chris Christie for president. Simple enough, right?
The Union Leader has, with a few exceptions, tended to give candidates a boost in the primary polls. Christie is still polling in single digits in that early-primary state, and his campaign understandably sees this as a badly needed pick-me-up.
But, in an unusual move, the New Jersey–based Star-Ledger decided to push back on that endorsement. In a strongly worded editorial, the paper’s editors said their New Hampshire counterparts knew “almost nothing” about Christie’s record as governor. (The Star-Ledger endorsed Christie’s reelection bid in 2013, but later developed George Washington Bridge–size regrets over that decision.)
The Union Leader’s editorial-page editor shot back during an appearance on MSNBC, calling the Star-Ledger basically Christie’s “crazy ex-girlfriend.”
“They dated him in 2013,” said Grant Bosse. “They broke up with him last year, and now they’re going around town bad-mouthing anybody he takes out to dinner.”
Christie, apparently also liked this elaborate — and some would say sexist metaphor — telling CBS: “I don’t know why you were reading it or why you care. The Star-Ledger is like my crazy ex-girlfriend who broke with me and is now running around town saying I am an awful person.”
But Bosse did not appreciate Christie borrowing his language without attribution:
Now, if only everyone would break out in song.
Things you buy through our links may earn Vox Media a commission.
