Chris Christie, action hero. Or is it pension hero?
The New Jersey governor is the star of a mock trailer which calls for blockbuster-sized pension reform. The trailer, released Tuesday by Christie’s office, kicks off the governor’s summer tour of the shoreline to discuss entitlement spending and reform.
The fake ad has all the hallmarks of your typical summer action movie: booming soundtrack, burning buildings, car chases, The Rock and clips of Governor Christie warning of a “looming” financial crisis due to the cost of pensions, health benefits, and debt services.
The governor already incurred the ire of Democrats and unions earlier this year, when he announced plans to cut pension payments by about $2.5 billion.
The mock movie featured by the trailer is entitled “No Pain. No Gain” and rated “R for reform.” Aside from Christie, the film stars “the People of New Jersey,” “the Rock,” “and the New Jersey legislature (hopefully).” The trailer is accompanied by a movie poster, pictured above.
Shortly after the trailer was released on Tuesday, Christie tweeted a link to his 2015 budget book, along with the words: “And for all you trolls out there: We know, the book was better.”
In response, one Twitter user suggested that the governor’s starring role is a a hint of things to come:
@GovChristie for #President? Why not #RonaldReagan was a movie star too.
— Ronald R Harmon (@RonaldRHarmon) July 15, 2014
Watch the mock trailer below:
Update: CNN reports that the video was taken down after Hollywood lawyers became involved:
When asked by CNN’s Jake Tapper why it was inexplicably removed, a spokesperson for Christie joked, “it was too much pain for The Rock.”
A source said Christie’s office was actually forced to remove the video after Hollywood attorneys phoned to discuss its use of film clips.
A new video without The Rock was released and has been included in this post.
