New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says he’s unfazed by recent poll numbers showing his job approval ratings taking a hit back home, saying public officials shouldn’t be dictated by polls.
“I don’t care, and I can’t care,” he said Monday evening on New Jersey 101.5 FM’s “Ask the Governor” program. “If you allow yourself as a public official to dictate your conduct, your positions, your mood by your polls, you’re a dead man.”
In a new low for his approval ratings, 56 percent of New Jersey voters disapproved of Mr. Christie’s job performance in a recent Quinnipiac poll, compared to 38 percent who approved.
“I am who I am,” he said. “The thing that drives others in the media … I don’t change. That’s what drives you crazy. You want me to react.”
Mr. Christie, who has said he’ll make an announcement in May or June on whether he’s entering the 2016 presidential race, said Monday he thinks he and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, potentially one of his main rivals for GOP nomination, are “very different guys.”
“People probably notice that already,” Mr. Christie said. “There are always going to be differences in personalities. Every candidate has his or her own fingerprint, right?”
“Just ’cause you’re a Republican, you don’t have the same fingerprint,” he said. “So who I am is unique and different compared to who Jeb is, compared to who Marco [Rubio] is, compared to who Rand [Paul] is, compared to who Ted [Cruz] is.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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