Jim Kenney, Philadelphia Councilman Who Called Chris Christie A 'Fat Ass,' Isn't Apologizing

Philadelphia City Councilman Jim Kenney was not apologizing Monday after he called New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie a “fat ass" and a “creep” for sitting with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones during the Cowboys’ win against the Eagles in Philadelphia Sunday night. Kenney, who also attended the game, suggested that Christie was being a traitor by backing the Cowboys over the Eagles, who command loyalty across South Jersey as well as eastern Pennsylvania.

Kenney’s tweets were retweeted and favorited hundreds of times:

Kenney, a Democrat, had no regrets over the tweets, telling KYW-AM in Philadelphia Monday night that he believed Christie, a Republican, was being disrespectful toward Philadelphians by being Jones’ guest in his skybox at Lincoln Financial Field. He didn’t apologize for calling Christie a name.

“When you’re across the river from Philadelphia as a neighbor, you should have a little more common sense and a little more respect for the rest of us,” Kenney said. “I have a big nose. He’s got a fat ass. It’s what life deals you.”

Kenney said he was at the game and saw Christie schmoozing with Jones when he got ticked off and fired off the crass tweets. “I could see him myself, high-fiving Jerry Jones and cheering on the Cowboys against the Eagles,” he said.

The Philadelphia councilman isn’t the only Pennsylvanian slamming Christie over the governor’s Cowboys allegiance. Former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, a Democrat, called Christie “pathetic” for rooting for America’s Team.

“How can a Jersey guy be a Cowboys fan? It’s pathetic,” Rendell said, adding that “it’s legal” to be a Cowboys fan, but “it indicates a basic inferiority complex,” according to the Dallas Morning News. “If you are a Jerseyite or a Pennsylvanian and you’re rooting for the Cowboys, it means you’re not secure in yourself and you wanted to root for a team that was a team in your youth that was a constant winner.”

Christie has been a fan of the Cowboys since he was a boy, explaining that “the Cowboys were really good back then.” The New Jersey governor said watching Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach is what led him to root for Dallas.

"I saw Roger Staubach play for the first time, and this was 1971, and I became a huge Staubach fan,” he told the NFL Network in 2013, according to Philadelphia magazine. “And as a result, a Cowboys fan, and I've been one ever since."

Christie is among a handful of likely 2016 Republican presidential candidates. Kenney’s reference to Texas alluded to Christie potentially looking for support from donors and voters in the Lone Star State. Texas has the second-most electoral votes with 38 and has long backed Republicans.