Stay on trail

Christie plans to stay on trail as storm bears down on New Jersey

By Nick Gass

As a mammoth winter storm of historic proportions bears down on much of the mid-Atlantic and the East Coast this weekend, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie says he will remain in New Hampshire but will return if "circumstances warrant." But, he is taking care to emphasize that he is still in control of the situation.

"Last night I had a briefing with my cabinet to discuss the storm’s path and to begin preparations for the potential impact on NJ," the Republican presidential candidate tweeted Friday morning, adding in a follow-up, "Later today I will determine any additional steps to ensure NJ is fully prepared and ready for this storm."

As of Friday morning, much of the state is under a blizzard warning or winter storm warning. The National Weather Service's latest prediction called for more than two feet of snow in the Washington, D.C., area, which is expected to bear the brunt of the historic storm, though accumulation totals are expected to be below that in New Jersey.

"No, I mean listen, I don't plan to, but you know, again, if circumstances warrant, you always do that. But the lieutenant governor is there, and she's handling things on the ground there, and if I needed to go back I would — but at this point it's too speculative to know," Christie told reporters in New Hampshire on Thursday, according to a video posted on NJ.com.

Christie, who is scheduled to be in New Hampshire until Monday, also remarked that his state was "preparing for the worst like you always do, and we can always scale back," adding that New Jersey has "been through this dance a bunch of times before, and so, from my perspective, you know, we're doing the things that we need to do in terms of getting roadways ready, dealing with potential coastal flooding and all the rest of that."

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called upon Christie and all governors with states affected by the storm, to return to their respective states.

"I think he needs to come back. You know, look—a day or two ago, it might have been a question mark. Right now it's not a question mark anymore. Obviously we are being warned that it could even be worse. We find this out with each storm. Sometimes it's less than we expected, sometimes it's more," the Democratic mayor said on CNN. "So, for any governor, it's time to come home."

The governor faced criticism more than five years ago for not returning to the state from a vacation at Walt Disney World in the midst of one of New Jersey's worst snowstorms in decades. "I was in charge from Florida," he said at the time, after more than two feet of snow fell in some parts of the state, shutting down interstate traffic amid whiteout conditions.