NY Daily News Fires Back at Chris Christie After Governor's 'Dope' Comments

If you were hoping for a news publication to get into a public tiff with a state governor, today’s your lucky day.

A day after New Jersey governor Chris Christie called NY Daily News beat reporter Manish Mehta “a dope" for relentlessly questioning Jets coach Rex Ryan in a recent press conference, the publication has shot back with a front page calling Christie a “fatso.”

The front page of the NY Daily News, for Tuesday, Aug. 27, as spotted by Newseum.org:

The paper also did a nice side-by-side comparison of Christie and Mehta.

Compelling stuff, right? From a professionalism standpoint, a publication using its front page as a billboard to air out personal beefs is the equivalent of trash talking via Facebook status.

It is, however, the NY Daily News—a publication known (and loved) for engaging its audience with provocative headlines. It’s part of what it does, and when a figure like Christie attacks one of its reporters, it will respond.

The “fatso” headline was a response to the comments made by Christie on Monday while making a guest appearance on WFAN’s Boomer & Carton Show. The hosts turned the conversation to the New York Jets media circus—specifically Mehta, with whom the governor took issue.

Christie made his displeasure with Mehta well known, calling the reporter a “dope” whom he “couldn’t pick out of a lineup.”

“Idiot. The guy’s a complete idiot. Self-consumed, underpaid, reporter,” Christie said. “The only reason he’s empowered is because we’re spending all this time this morning talking about Manish Mehta...no Jet fan really gives a damn about Manish Mehta.”

While some Jets fans do regard Mehta’s reporting as sensationalistic and purposefully inflammatory, going after him this hard does seem a bit ham-fisted, even for Christie—for whom speaking bluntly is a way of life.

It wouldn’t surprise this author to see a response from the governor’s office that embraces the criticism wholeheartedly.

Image via likes.com / quickmeme.com

With that said, we have two entities that aren’t afraid to butt heads going after each other. Things are bound to get interesting.

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