A kindergarten teacher doesn't think New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) is doing a very good job of teaching by example.
At a town hall Monday, Cheryl Meyer told the governor "that she'd had trouble explaining to her students why it was fine for the man who holds the highest office in the state to use words like 'shut up' and 'idiot' when they can't," The Associated Press reported.
"How do you defend that?" she asked, advising the potential 2016 presidential contender that it wouldn't play well on a national stage.
"There are some people who just believe that if you're a public figure, that they're allowed to be rude -- that they can say anything to you and because you're a public figure, you have to respond politely because that's the rule. I don't see it that way," the governor responded, according to Bloomberg.
"Sometimes I just want to do it," Christie continued.
The governor said later that he's "trying to get better every day," but he won't be a politician who only says things people want to hear.
"If it turns out, whether it's for the people of the state or for the people of the country -- if I ever chose to do that -- that that wasn't their cup of tea? I'd rather go home," Christie said.
Christie has had run-ins with teachers -- and many others -- before. Just last week, Christie responded sharply to a teacher who said, "I know that you could have gotten more money, on the dollar," in a pollution settlement between the state and Exxon Mobil.
"Do you?" Christie replied, according to NJ.com. "You do know that? Really? You know that?" He continued his line of questioning, leading the teacher to say, "I'm not here to be bullied."
At a 2013 campaign rally, a New Jersey teacher asked the governor, "Why do you continue to spread the myth that our schools and teachers are failing?"
"Because they are!" Christie replied, while pointing a finger at her. "I am tired of you people. What do you want?"
Last fall, the governor made headlines when he told an activist at a Superstorm Sandy anniversary event to "sit down and shut up."
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