NJ DEP Issues Air Quality Alert After Chris Christie Eats Taco Bell

Chris Christie and his running mate, about to dive into lunch.

New Jersey environmental officials are warning young children, the elderly and people with respiratory diseases to remain inside until further notice after they learned GOP gubernatorial candidate Chris Christie had two cheesy double beef burritos, a Gordita supreme and volcano nachos for lunch.

The alert noted air quality levels were expected to reach the “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups category throughout New Jersey during the afternoon and early evening hours,” which would coincide with the fast food Mexican meal making its way through Christie’s stomach, small intestines and large intestines. Officials said there likely would be a steep decline in air quality at some point within the next 24 hours before the crisis passes.

“This is not a drill. This is not an exercise meant to scare the general public when no threat exists,” DEP Commissioner Mark Mauriello said at a news conference in Trenton. “When our surveillance teams learned what was happening they called it in right away. I mean, my God man, volcano nachos? Think of the children. Just think of the children!”

Christie’s campaign acknowledged the candidate, who enjoys a comfortable lead over Gov. Jon Corzine in the polls, treated himself and some staff to a Mexican fiesta lunch at a Taco Bell on Route 22 in Green Brook after a campaign stop. But spokesman Bill Stepien railed against the Department of Environmental Protection’s action and said Mauriello was just a gas bag doing Corzine’s bidding.

“So Chris had some Mexican food. So what? He also took Extra Strength Gas-X. But you don’t hear the state talking about that, do you?” Stepien said. “And what about Jon Corzine? We have information the governor and his rich friends feasted on meat cooked rare at a fancy steak house in Hoboken. You want to talk about air quality concerns, look no further. But again, you won’t hear that from so-called ‘independent state agencies.’”

Mauriello stood by the alert and denied any political motivation.

“This isn’t about Republicans or Democrats. Taco Bell will do this to candidates from either party, but in this case, Mr. Christie’s intake was such that we had serious emission concerns,” he said. “In the end, we just want to save lives.”