By Michael Aron
Chief Political Correspondent
It seems fair to say Gov. Chris Christie’s trip to England did not go as he would have scripted it.
His comment about childhood vaccinations Monday — that parents should be able to weigh options — caused a dust-up back home.
A front page New York Times story Tuesday focused on what it called his fondness for luxurious perks when other pay the bills.
He canceled two press availabilities scheduled for that day.
Veteran Press Secretary Carl Golden said by phone today, “Basically his own story got stepped on. It was supposed to be about burnishing his foreign policy credentials in a friendly county. That story was just obliterated when he made the comment about vaccination.”
Ordinarily a governor on his first day back after a foreign trade mission would brief the local media on his trip.
Instead, the media were staking out Christie’s office this morning, hoping for a glimpse and a comment.
Christie met privately with the Premier of Alberta, Canada, whom he met on his Canada trade mission in December.
Call it a return courtesy call.
When asked if Christie said anything to him about his trip to England, Premier Jim Prentice said, “Just that he had been there. We were talking more about matters between my province of Alberta in Canada and the United States.”
The press in England either ignored Christie’s trip or had fun with it.
The left-leaning Independent headlined one story — “Cameron to meet with ‘big mouth’ presidential hopeful Chris Christie during three-day visit.”
Here at the State House, lawmakers we asked didn’t want to touch a question about the trip.
State House veterans offered varying views.
“We question what he did over there, but it’s been part of this administration’s denial of science, deny climate change, and sea-level rise and now they seem to be denying biology,” said NJ Sierra Club President Jeff Tittel.
“As it goes on, the governor certainly has a way to finding an exit strategy if there was a mistake made in his remarks, but I think it’s a small blip,” said Former Rep. State Chair Dick Kamin.
On top of everything, while he was away, an Iowa poll had Christie way down in the GOP hopeful pack at 4 percent with the highest unfavorability-to-favorability ratio in the bunch.
Christie appears to be at a low ebb right now. But politics is transitory. You can be down one day and up the next. Chris Christie knows that as well as anyone.