Sea Girt, N.J. — Gov. Chris Christie lashed out Wednesday at a former White House doctor who said she worries about him dying in office because he is so heavy, telling her to “shut up.”
Dr. Connie Mariano, who served as White House physician from 1992 to 2001, told CNN she’d like to see Christie run for president in 2016 but he needs to lose weight. She said she worries he could have a heart attack or stroke.
“I’m worried about this man dying in office,” the doctor, who has a practice in Scottsdale, Ariz., told the network.
During a visit Wednesday to a shore town devastated by Superstorm Sandy, Christie was asked about the doctor’s comments.
Unless Mariano gives him a physical exam and learns his family history, “she should shut up,” the Republican governor said.
Christie said his children heard the doctor’s comments and his preteen son asked him if he was going to die.
“This is just another hack who wants five minutes on TV,” Christie said.
Copyright Associated Press 2013
