Rupert Murdoch Privately Warned Chris Christie To Support Romney Following Hurricane Sandy
In the closing days of the 2012 presidential campaign, media mogul Rupert Murdoch had a warning for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, The New York Times reports. Following Christie’s praise of President Barack Obama‘s handling of Hurricane Sandy, Murdoch privately spoke told Christie to reinforce his support for Mitt Romney.
Per The New York Times:
A few days after Hurricane Sandy shattered the shores of New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie picked up the phone to take on a different kind of recovery work: taming the Republican Party fury over his effusive embrace of President Obama.
[…]
Mr. Christie told Mr. Murdoch that amid the devastation, New Jersey needed friends, no matter their political party, according to people briefed on the discussion. But Mr. Murdoch was blunt: Mr. Christie risked looking like a spoiler unless he publicly affirmed his support for Mitt Romney, something the governor did the next day.
Christie “has been explaining himself to Republicans ever since,” the report adds. “His lavish praise for Mr. Obama’s response to the storm, delivered in the last days of the presidential race, represented the most dramatic development in the campaign’s final stretch.”
As for Murdoch, he’d issued a similar warning via Twitter, arguing that Christie must “re-declare” his support for Romney or “take blame for [the] next four dire years.”
(H/T NYT)
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