TRENTON — Two days after Gov. Chris Christie declared that the Philadelphia Phillies “suck” and the team’s stadium is not “safe for civilized people,” the city’s mayor shot back with a critique of his own:
Christie is a loser with “nowhere to go,” Mayor Jim Kenney said.
And he wasn’t alone. Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said he thinks Christie “needs help.”
During an interview Friday on a Philly sports-talk radio show, Kenney, a Democrat, dismissed Christie’s comments by saying he kind of feels “sorry for the guy.”
“He’s got the biggest L on his forehead of anybody in the country,” Kenney told host Angelo Cataldi on SportsRadio 94.1-FM.
“He ran for president for one hot-mess minute and then when that was over he was moon-dogging Trump thinking he was going to get a big job,” the mayor added. “Now I think he’s just bitter and has got nowhere to go. Who’s going to hire him? … I think he’s done.”
“Bullies always lose, and he’s a bully,” Kenney concluded.
Spokespeople for Christie’s office did not immediately return messages from NJ Advance Media seeking comment.
Christie dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination last year. Later, he was passed over for vice president and U.S. attorney general in President Donald Trump’s administration. Christie said he turned down multiple other jobs in Trump’s White House.
The governor — who is in the final year of his final term in New Jersey — is also carrying record-low approval ratings at home that have fallen into the teens.
Christie, a die-hard fan of the New York Mets — the Phillies’ chief rival — made the remarks during an appearance on SNY’s “Baseball Night” on Wednesday.
The blunt-talking governor — who has said he’s open to becoming a sports-talk host in the future — was asked to weigh in about a controversy over the Phillies using the slogan “Ya Gotta Believe,” which was coined by Mets reliever Tug McGraw in 1973. McGraw later pitched for the Phillies, fanning Willie Wilson for the final out in the team’s 1980 World Series win.
“The Phillies suck,” Christie said. “Let’s just start with that. They’re from Philadelphia. They’re an awful team. They’re an angry, bitter fan base and it’s not safe for civilized people to go to Citizens Bank Park if you want to root for the other team.”
The Phillies responded Thursday with a tweet:
We love our fans and appreciate their unwavering support as we “bridge” to a bright future!
— Phillies (@Phillies) February 16, 2017
It was a subtle nod to the George Washington Bridge scandal that engulfed Christie’s administration in recent years.
Kenney’s jabs aren’t his first at Christie. Then a city councilman, Kenney went on a Twitter rant against the governor after the Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Dallas Cowboys in 2014. Christie is a Cowboys fan and celebrated the win in Dallas owner Jerry Jones’ box.
“Hey fat assed Christie, kiss Jerry Jones’ ass in his box in Dallas. Not across the river from Philly. You are just a creep!” Kenney wrote in a tweet that has since been deleted.
Meanwhile on Friday, Rendell, the Democrat who was governor of Philadelphia’s home state from 2003 to 2011, said the comments show Christie is “totally out of control.”
“What possesses this guy?” Rendell, a Democrat, said during a separate appearance on Cataldi’s show. “Doesn’t he understand when he’s attacking Phillies fans, about 40 percent of Phillies fans come from South Jersey?”
“It’s like the guy is trying to driving his numbers down to zero,” Rendell added. “I think the guy needs help.”
Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
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