Chris Christie finally addressed his glassy-eyed look during Donald Trump’s Super Tuesday victory speech saying, “I wasn’t being held hostage.”
Christie, who introduced Trump after his big wins on Tuesday, became an internet sensation as he stood silently behind Trump, looking uncomfortable and at times fidgety. His facial expression quickly went viral with the hashtag #FreeChrisChristie trending on Twitter.
“Listen, I don’t know what I was supposed to be doing. I was standing there listening to him. And you know, all these armchair psychiatrists should give it a break,” Christie said during a press conference in New Jersey on Thursday.
The reason for his constipated look?
“Usually you have hundreds of people in a ballroom, they’re all screaming and cheering, and you’re giving a political speech. Well, that would have led to a lot of applause, a lot of smiles, and all of the rest of it,” Christie explained. “He gave a press conference! That’s what he decided to do that night. That’s what he wanted to do. There were literally 25 people that were not press in that room that night.”
Christie said the unusual victory speech format left him in an awkward position.
“It wasn’t the kind of circumstance where I’d be jumping up and down, cheering, and smiling. He was answering questions from the national press corps and I was listening,” he added.
Christie’s frozen look even got the
— Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) March 2, 2016
There's just one question on Chris Christie's mind. #SuperTuesday pic.twitter.com/sSDnCXgxBE
— The Daily Show (@TheDailyShow) March 2, 2016
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