Story highlights Reputation as straight talker catapulted Chris Christie onto national stage

Critics have accused New Jersey governor of being a bully

Christie denied label at news conference apologizing for bridge traffic scandal

Bully reputation likely to follow Christie if he runs for president in 2016

Chris Christie's signature tough-talking style earned him plaudits from the press and politicos alike from the moment he emerged on the national stage as a candidate for New Jersey governor in 2009.

It quickly catapulted him into a wider arena, the kind of place most politicians can only dream of: Whispers started coming soon after his election that he could star on a presidential ticket for the Republican Party. He seemed authentic. The real deal.

But that same quick wit and fiery spirit has caused his fans heartburn from time to time and led critics to make the case the straight talker who vows to get things done can also be an intimidating bully.

Christie rejects that characterization.

"I am not a bully," he said during a nearly two-hour news conference Thursday to address allegations that aides orchestrated traffic jams to punish a mayor who declined to endorse the governor's re-election.

There's no evidence tying Christie to the scandal, but the controversy plays to a stereotype. He'll have to combat this entrenched belief, particularly if he seeks the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.

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Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was not indicted as part of the Bridgegate scandal. But one of his appointees pled guilty and 2 former staffers face criminal charges. Hide Caption 1 of 21 Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – David Wildstein, a former top Christie appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to commit fraud on federally funded property and one civil rights violation. Hide Caption 2 of 21 Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – Bridget Anne Kelly, Gov. Chris Christie deputy chief of staff, was fired when her e-mail about it being time for "traffic in Fort Lee" became the center of the scandal. She has been charged with nine criminal counts, including conspiracy and fraud. Hide Caption 3 of 21 Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – Bill Baroni was executive deputy director of the Port Authority until he resigned amid the scandal in December 2014. He has been charged them with nine criminal counts, including conspiracy and fraud. Hide Caption 4 of 21 Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer claims New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno approached her in a parking lot last May and told her that Sandy recovery aid for her town depended on her support of a redevelopment project backed by the governor. Hide Caption 5 of 21 Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal Who's who in the Christie controversies – Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno denies telling Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer that her town's Superstorm Sandy relief money depended on her support for a redevelopment project proposed by a company with ties to Gov. Chris Christie that he had backed. Hide Caption 6 of 21 Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal Who's who in the Christie controversies – Maria Comella, a deputy chief of staff in Christie's office, had been monitoring the media reaction weeks after the George Washington Bridge traffic fiasco. She has been subpoenaed as part of the state legislative investigation. Hide Caption 7 of 21 Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal Who's who in Christie controversies – Randy Mastro, a former assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and a former deputy mayor of New York, will head the legal team representing the Christie administration in various investigations relating to the George Washington Bridge political scandal. He once a the federal racketeering lawsuit that forced the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to hold democratic elections and undergo court supervision. Hide Caption 8 of 21 Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – Reid Schar, a key figure in the federal prosecution of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, will assist the special state Assembly committee investigating the bridge scandal that has engulfed current and former aides of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Hide Caption 9 of 21 Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone of New Jersey, a Democrat, said he was concerned about the bidding process for using $25 million in Superstorm Sandy relief funds for a marketing campaign to promote tourism at the Jersey Shore. Hide Caption 10 of 21 Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – E-mails suggest that Fort Lee Mayor Mark Sokolich was the apparent target of an alleged political payback scheme involving traffic jams around the George Washington Bridge. He met with Chris Christie in early January to discuss the matter, and said the governor was "gracious and apologetic." Hide Caption 11 of 21 Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – New Jersey Democratic Assemblyman John Wisniewski is chairman of the special state Assembly committee investigating the George Washington Bridge scandal. The panel has subpoenaed current and former top Christie aides as well members of his political organization, seeking documents and other materials. Chris Christie has not been subpoenaed but his office has. Hide Caption 12 of 21 Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – Michael Drewniak, Christie's chief spokesman, has been subpoenaed by a special state Assembly committee investigating the George Washington Bridge scandal. It is seeking documents and other materials. Although there is nothing to suggest Drewniak was involved in the scandal, e-mails released by investigators show he met with a key figure, David Wildstein, two days before Wildstein resigned from his job as a top Christie appointee at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Hide Caption 13 of 21 Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – David Samson, Port Authority chairman, said its board had no knowledge of the George Washington Bridge traffic jam mess until five days after the fact. He has been subpoenaed by the state assembly committee and is also a partner and founding member of Wolff & Samson, the law firm that represented the Rockefeller Group in the Hoboken redevelopment plan. Hide Caption 14 of 21 Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – Patrick Foye, the executive director of the Port Authority, said access lane closures that resulted in the George Washington Bridge traffic mess didn't follow proper agency protocols. He ordered the lanes reopened and has been subpoenaed by the state Assembly committee as part of its investigation into the bridge scandal. Hide Caption 15 of 21 Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, a Democrat who also didn't endorse Christie, has raised his own suspicions about his cooled relationship with the administration. Hide Caption 16 of 21 Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – New Jersey Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, a Democrat, has been pressing for information about the scandal. Hide Caption 17 of 21 Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – Democrat Barbara Buono is a New Jersey state senator who challenged Chris Christie this past November and lost in a landslide. She derided Christie during the campaign as representing "the worst combination of bully and bossism," and she brought up the George Washington Bridge traffic mess as an example. Hide Caption 18 of 21 Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – Bill Stepien managed Chris Christie's two successful campaigns for govenor. E-mails suggest he was aware of the bridge lane closures, and Christie has asked him to give up his political role. He, too, has been subpoenaed by the state committee investigating the matter. Hide Caption 19 of 21 Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – Scott Rechler, vice chairman of the Port Authority's board of commissioners, e-mailed other representatives of the agency saying he was disturbed that traffic was snarled "without regard to this being the Jewish high holiday weekend" last September. Rechler was appointed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Hide Caption 20 of 21 Photos: Who's who in Christie bridge scandal Who's who in Christie bridge scandal – E-mails suggest Regina Egea, then a senior staffer and the governor's point person to the Port Authority and other agencies, was aware of concerns the George Washington Bridge lane closures were not part of an ongoing traffic study as the Christie administration initially claimed. She's now Christie's incoming chief of staff and has also been subpoenaed by the state Assembly committee. Hide Caption 21 of 21

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Republicans went wild over Christie when he took on teachers' unions in his first year in office. He never backed down and wound up putting unions on the defensive, cutting some of their benefits.

GOP loyalists loved the act, but teachers balked.

Some of his outbursts have extended beyond partisan politics. He's dressed down reporters for asking questions he didn't like. In one 2012 press conference, he barked, "On topic, next question. Thank you all very much, and I'm sorry for the idiot over there."

He's chased hecklers, including one who got to him in Seaside Heights when he was eating an ice cream cone. He followed the heckler while admonishing him.

When House Republicans stalled a bill to provide relief to New Jersey in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, Christie complained: " It's why the American people hate Congress ."

And when House Republicans from Colorado sought similar funding for flood relief after Sandy, Christie said, "They're hypocrites. That's what they are."

But he said he makes no apologies for telling it like it is.

He told CNN's Jake Tapper on the day of his re-election in November that he's said things he regrets, of course, but that he thinks people respect him because he's genuine.

And throughout his contrite news conference Thursday, Christie took pains to express that just because he tells it straight, it doesn't make him someone who seeks retribution. He said, "I am not a focus-group tested, blow-dried candidate or governor."