Chris Christie Loves To Talk About This Profane Prayer An 82-Year-Old Voter Said For Him

Gov. Chris Christie (R-N.J.) is the only viable candidate for major office I've ever heard say the word "shit" twice in a stump speech.

It happened at a rally Saturday in Toms River, New Jersey, when he told a story about an 82-year-old woman from Newark whom he met at a "senior wellness" event in September.

The woman, Gladys, told Christie she didn't vote for him in 2009 but would do so this time around. And she said after seeing his press conference following the devastating boardwalk fire in Seaside Park this August, she said a special prayer for him:

"Lord, please give our governor strength, 'cause I don't know how much more shit this boy can take."

He's audio of the story and a transcript:

I went to this one table and I tapped a woman on the shoulder to get her attention, she turned around, I said "Hi, my name is Chris Christie." And she said, "Hi Governor, my name is Gladys." And Gladys stood up, I said Gladys, where ya from? She said, I'm from Newark, New Jersey, lived there my whole life.

So Gladys said to me "Governor, I'm 82 years old." I said "Well, nice to meet you, Gladys." And she said, "I didn't vote for you last time." I said, "Don't worry Gladys, a lot of people didn't, it's OK." She said "But I'm voting for you this time." I said "Well thank you Gladys, that's great."

And she said "You know, and ever since Hurricane Sandy, Governor, every night I've prayed for you. Every night." I said "Thank you Gladys, that is really so wonderful and kind, I appreciate it." And she said "Then three weeks ago I saw you standing in front of that fire, that awful fire in Seaside Park. I saw you standing behind that bank of microphones and I'll tell you something Governor, for the first time in four years I was worried about you. You looked so tired and I was really worried about you."

And I said, "Well Gladys, that wasn't my best day. And I was tired." And she said, "So you know, that night I said a special prayer for you." I said, "OK, well thank you." And she said, "You wanna hear it?" "Sure, OK." She said "That night before I went to bed, I said, Lord, please give our governor strength, 'cause I don't know how much more shit this boy can take."

It's a true story. So people ask me, "What's it like to run for governor of New Jersey?" That's what it's like to run for governor of New Jersey.

You go to a senior wellness event, and you go up to this well-dressed, soft-spoken, dignified, 82-year-old African American woman who tells you she prays for you every night and she's gonna vote for you, and then she tells you about her special prayer, where she doesn't hesitate for a moment to tell me she's praying for me, and use the word 'Lord' and the word 'shit' within two sentences of each other. These are my people!