A “Jersey Shore” throwdown erupted yesterday when Gov. Chris Christie told a former White House physician to “shut up” after she said he was too fat to be president.
Dr. Connie Mariano said the rotund New Jersey governor, if elected president, could die of a heart attack in office due to his girth.
“She’s just another hack looking for her five minutes,” Christie fumed while touring the Hurricane Sandy-ravaged shore town of Sea Girt. “She should shut up.”
Mariano, a White House physician from 1992 to 2001, told CNN she’d like to see Christie run for the nation’s highest office in 2016 — as long as he dropped some pounds along the way.
“I’m worried about this man dying in office,” said Mariano, who now practices in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Christie said Mariano had no right to comment unless she examined him and knew his health history.
The governor said he was particularly upset because his children saw the doctor’s comment and thought he might drop dead soon from his weight.
“I find it fascinating that a doctor in Arizona who has never met me, never examined me, never reviewed my medical history or records, knows nothing about my family history, could make a diagnosis from 2,400 miles away,” Christie mocked.
“She must be a genius. She should probably be the surgeon general of the United States.”
The governor, who has been widely touted as a potential 2016 GOP presidential candidate, doesn’t mind making fun of his size.
“I’m basically the healthiest fat guy you’ve ever seen in your life,” Christie said Monday on “Late Show with David Letterman.”
Christie even pulled out a doughnut during his bit and said his considerable girth is “fair game” for comics.
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