Time Magazine Cover Controversy Over Chris Christie And The Elephant


Time Magazine is in some trouble over their most recent cover, which features recently re-elected New Jersey Governor Chris Christie in silhouette with the tag line: “The Elephant in the Room”.

Where is the controversy, you might ask?

Turns out that the photo caption can be interpreted in more than one way. The elephant is the symbol of Christie’s Republican Party, as you may know.

However, some are taking the cover in a different way, accusing Time Magazine of insulting the governor saying the line relates to his weight.

This is not a new issue, it has come up at different times in the past and the question has been posed to Chris Christie himself.

One such instance came in May, when Christie revealed he had undergone gastric band surgery to try to lose weight, according to CBS.

The governor said he decided to have the procedure after turning 50-years-old the previous September.

At the time, during a press conference the New Jersey governor replied to a reporter’s question about why he had taken three months to disclose the surgery.

“In terms of keeping it secret, it’s nobody else’s business,” Christie said. “If asked about it, I wouldn’t have lied about it. But it’s nobody else’s business but mine.”

Chris Christie dismissed the notion that he had gone under the knife for political reasons to advance his career, saying his motivation was his health and not his professional future.

Time Magazine writer Michael Scherer says the title is more about the Republican’s larger than life figure in politics.

“It’s not just about his physical size; it’s about his whole political act,” he said. “And he’s telling a story about his attitude, his approach, the way he handles himself.”

Governor Christie beat his Democratic opponent, Barbara Buono, easily in a traditionally blue state and secured the governorship for four more years. Christie is considered a strong Presidential hopeful for the Republicans in the 2016 elections, although he denies the reports.

As usual, Twitter was a good place to gauge reactions to the iffy cover. Here are some who didn’t think the Time Magazine cover was doing Chris Christie any favors:

Do you think the Time Magazine cover is attacking Chris Christie’s weight or are people making too much about nothing?

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