Interviewer Barbara Walters put a tough question to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on her 10 Most Fascinating People of 2012 special last night: Is he too big to be a POTUS?
Even Barbara Walters seemed to cringe when she asked Chris Christie the question that’s been bandied about of late: Is he too heavy to run for president?
“Okay, Governor, I feel very uncomfortable asking this question when I’m sitting opposite you, but you are a little overweight,” said Walters on her 10 Most Fascinating People of 2012 special, which aired Wednesday night.
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“More than a little,” responded Christie.
“Why?” asked Walters, creating an awkwardness so thick you could cut it with a spork. Um, science has been trying to figure that out too, Barbara.
“If I could figure that out, I’d fix it,” said the straight-talking New Jersey governor, who told Walters he’d “lost and gained more weight in my lifetime than I care to count.” He also pointed out that the people of New Jersey as well as the rest of the nation had seen him working “18-hour days” after Hurricane Sandy, so the notion that he is too fat to preside is “ridiculous.”
On The View Thursday, Walters was at first seemingly shamefaced about her interaction with Christie. View co-host Sherri Shepherd wondered if Christie had ever considered gastric surgery.
Walters responded that it was hard enough to ask what she did. “You sit opposite the person and you want to be a little dignified,” she said. “I don’t want to say ‘Hey, not only are you overweight but have you considered an operation? What about surgery?'”
Ah, it’s about your dignity, not his. We got it.
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Whoopi Goldberg defended Walters’ question, implying Christie might drop dead while in office. Elisabeth Hasselbeck cautioned her co-hosts against questioning others’ “ability to do their job based on their weight.”
Walters wasn’t so worried about her dignity a few moments later, when Hasselbeck wondered what the governor was doing for the holidays. Walters responded, “I’m afraid he’s eating.”
Oh, man. Very nice. So you were just concern-trolling on your special, then? Got it.
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