Attendees at a town hall with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) witnessed a vintage moment Thursday, as the governor snapped at a heckler and told him to “either sit down and keep quiet, or get out.”
Christie was hosting a town hall at the Mount Laurel, N.J., YMCA, and was met with resistance from six hecklers shouting at the governor over the Bridgegate scandal and his handling of Hurricane Sandy relief funding.
While Christie tried his best to answer questions and ignore the hecklers, he couldn’t look past one man shouting about Sandy relief funding. The man, Rowan University student Michael Brein, began yelling at Christie as the governor attempted to hear a question from a woman about her taxes.
“Either sit down and keep quiet, or get out,” Christie swiftly responded to Brein.
The student, 19, continued, and police officers eventually escorted him out of the building.
As the town hall moved forward, more protesters continued shouting, and police kept removing them from the event. According to the Star-Ledger, four of the protesters were students from Rowan, and all were escorted out of the YMCA by police.
“One of the interesting things is I really love youthful enthusiasm,” Christie told the crowd as two women were escorted out of the YMCA. “I really do. And these folks who come in here today ginned up for their own partisan purposes, see they’re getting exactly what they want, because they get taken out, they get attention, and the press follows them out and then interviews them. Right? Which is exactly what they want.”
Christie noted that the protesters weren’t interested in getting answers to their questions and concerns, and said that if they did want to speak with him, they would sit down and voice their issues when called on.
“I have had plenty of people who are angry with me and don’t like me, who I’ve called on,” Christie continued, speaking about his previous town halls. “Believe me, I didn’t call on them on purpose.”
The governor then began to joke about his background — he was brought up by an Irish father and Italian mother — and said he was raised on conflict and therefore not bothered by those who disagree with him.
In recent months, Christie has come under intense scrutiny for the Bridgegate scandal and appropriation of Sandy relief funding.
Some believe Christie was selective with how he doled out the Washington, D.C.-appropriated money, while others are complaining of poor performance from contractors and a delay in receiving funds.
Watch Christie address protesters at his town hall below.
