Five Things You Might Not Know About New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, Donald Trump’s VP Finalist

Chris Christie is still in the running against Newt Gingrich and Mike Pence to become Donald Trump’s VP pick and running mate.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Donald Trump said that he wants someone who is an experienced government leader. This may be the reason Chris Christie is a finalist in Trump’s coveted Republican VP list, with six years of experience under his belt as the 55th Governor of New Jersey since he took office in January 2010. Christie’s term as New Jersey’s Governor ends January 2018.

The 53-year-old governor was born September 6, 1962 in Newark, New Jersey. Christie is a University of Delaware and Seton Hall University School of Law graduate. The University of Delaware is where Christie met his wife Mary Pat Foster, with whom he has four children. He practiced law until he started gaining the spotlight in 2002, when he had already campaigned for Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush. At this time, George W. Bush appointed Christie as the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey, a position he held until 2008, shortly before he announced his candidacy for Governor of New Jersey in 2009.

In anticipation of Trump’s VP announcement this week, here are some things you might still not know about Chris Christie. 

  1. Even though it is a known fact that Christie’s all time favorite musician is Bruce Springsteen, what you might not know is that he has been to more than 130 of Springsteen’s concerts. However, the feeling has not always been mutual. In January 2010, Springsteen declined a request to perform at Christie’s inauguration ceremony. Instead, Chris Christie had to hire the B Street Band, a Springsteen tribute group, which he joined on stage to sing some of Springsteen’s hit songs. In January 2014, Springsteen also appeared on Late Night, where he and Jimmy Fallon performed a parody and mocked Christie’s Bridgegate scandal.
  2. Scooby-Doo was allegedly Christie’s favorite childhood TV show. The confession arose during a Branchburg Town Hall meeting in 2013, when a 4-year-old audience member told Christie that his favorite TV show was Scooby-Doo, and Christie told the boy, “When I was 4, my favorite show was Scooby-Doo, too.” So why is this debatable? Well someone did the math and found out that the program, “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!” didn’t start production until Christie was actually, 7-years-old. Comedian Stephen Colbert labelled the incident “Scoobygate,” referencing the Governors Bridgegate Scandal.
  3. Even though Christie did not win the GOP nomination and will maybe have to settle for vice president, he was a president at one point of his life — class president that is, for three years at Livingston High School. He went on to be class president at the University of Delaware, too, where his wife Mary Pat Foster succeeded him, unopposed, after Christie graduated. Richard Abbot, a student from the university, wrote in the school newspaper in 1984 about the ‘succession.’ “Something is lacking in our student government. It is known as representative democracy…. It is unfortunate that this same system will most likely continue next year, propped up by Chris Christie’s anointed successors. As Mr. Christie stated, ‘We’re not having an election this year, we’re having a coronation.’”
  4. Christie’s wife made a lot more money than him. Christie’s net worth is a reported $4 million. However, Mary Pat told Bloomberg in 2013, “I’ve always been the breadwinner.” She added that, “I really just wanted him to be happy in his career, and he is.” She gave up her $500,000-a-year job — compared to Christie’s $175,000 annual governor salary — as managing director at Angelo, Gordon & Co., a hedge fund and investment management firm, ahead of Christie’s 2016 presidential bid.
  5. While 2013 was a busy and controversial year for Christie dealing with the Bridgegate scandal, he still had time to undergo a lap band weight loss surgery. Christie has always famously struggled with his weight. Even though the New Jersey governor keeps the exact figures of his weight loss to himself, reports say that he lost at least 100 pounds.