While much of the media believes New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) will be negatively affected by the recent “bridgegate” scandal, outspoken liberal Bill Maher is arguing to the contrary, saying Christie is likely to bounce back much in the way Miley Cyrus has post her VMA performance — sans twerking.
Maher, host of HBO’s “Real Time,” played hardball with MSNBC host Chris Matthews on Tuesday and discussed the recent “bridgegate” scandal. The “Real Time” host didn’t see the controversy as the catalyst for Christie’s political downfall, but rather something that will make him an even bigger star.
“This [bridge scandal] is not the disaster for him that people think it is. I think it’s Miley Cyrus,” Maher said. “It looked like a scandal when she was twerking at the VMA Awards, but it turns out that it just made her a bigger star.”
Cyrus raised many an eyebrow after her performance at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards in August, specifically for her provocative dancing, known as twerking. Though she received much criticism for her “twerk heard around the world,” it also catapulted her to stardom.
And this same phenomenon is likely to affect Christie in the same way, Maher said.
“All I saw was every network covering Christie’s State of the State speech,” he told Matthews. “When did you ever see networks covering a governor’s State of the State speech? He’s just a bigger star than ever right now.”
After emails surfaced last week linking members of Christie’s staff to lane closures on the George Washington Bridge, the New Jersey governor and likely 2016 hopeful was quick to fire the parties involved. In a two-hour long press conference, Christie denied any involvement and apologized. He reiterated those sentiments in his State of the State speech Tuesday.
But while some argue “bridgegate” could squander any hopes of a Christie victory in 2016, Maher said it is unlikely the New Jersey governor’s opponents will find anything to tie him to the lane closures.
“I don’t think they’ll ever find a smoking ham, you know, to attribute to Chris Christie directly,” the HBO host said. “I think he is too clever for that. That’s not how thugs work.”
Instead, Maher said Christie likely hired Bridget Kelly — his former deputy chief of staff — to “carry out orders like this.”
