NJ Governor Chris Christie calls Navy veteran an ‘idiot’

William Brown, a law school student at Rutgers-Camden, was speaking out against the governor's plan to merge his school with Rowan University when he became the target of a signature Christie rant.

Chris Christie called a Navy veteran an "idiot" at a New Jersey town hall meeting Thursday after they locked horns over the governor’s plan to merge two public universities.

The veteran, William Brown, a law school student at Rutgers-Camden, was speaking out against the governor's plan to merge his school with Rowan University when he became the target of a signature Christie rant.

The trouble began when Brown said calmly that he was worried Christie's move would hurt his degree’s value.

"I know that all my friends in the military no matter what state they're from respect that fact that I go to Rutgers. It's also true that none of my friends in the military no matter what state they're from have ever heard of Rowan," he said, according to NJ.com.

Christie began to explain the plan, when Brown shouted "what about my son? What about my neighbors? What about my friends?"

That's when Christie became slightly agitated, but continued his explanation. When Brown, a Democrat who ran unsuccessfully for the State Assembly last year, interrupted again, the governor became irate.

Eventually, Brown was escorted from the meeting by police.

"Let me tell you something, after you graduate from law school, you conduct yourself like that in a courtroom, your rear end is going to be thrown in jail, idiot," Christie shouted as Brown was led away.

He then turned to the mostly sympathetic crowd and added, "You know, I tried to be patient with the guy. Every time I tried to answer, he started yelling over me again. Damn, man, I'm governor, could you just shut up for a second?"

When reached by phone on Friday, Brown told the Daily News that he was shocked at the way he was escorted out of the meeting, which he said was supposed to be a place for citizens to express their concerns.

“I had two cops holding my arms,” he said. “I served my country, I am a combat veteran and they escorted me out like I was a criminal. I couldn’t believe this is America.”

While yelling at an Iraq War veteran may be considered a major faux pas for most politicians, Christie, a GOP darling, made much of his reputation through well-planted videos of him taking down other normally sympathetic figures , such as school teachers.

Brown said that when he returned to the Rutgers campus, more than a dozen people came up to thank him for speaking up.

“My professors, other students, everyone was thanking me,” he said.

He said many of his fellow students were in the town hall meeting and had been shocked by Christie’s behavior as well.

“Even for Chris Christie this is pretty appalling,” he said.