Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens Really, Really Wants You To Know How Fit He Is

Eric Greitens Image by Courtesy of Eric Greitens

By Nathan Guttman December 11, 2017

Eric Greitens, Missouri’s first Jewish governor and a Navy SEAL veteran, loves working out, loves to take his hobby to the extreme, and loves to share his videos on Facebook.

The Associated Press could not help noticing that Greitens’ activities more closely resemble Arnold Schwarzenegger’s movie star exploits than the typical events of ordinary Republican politicians.

The article lists only some of Greitens’ recent activities: entering a burning building with firefighters, rappelling into a rodeo ring, conquering a climbing wall, riding in a patrol car through a high-speed obstacle course, and climbing 110 flights of stairs.

“He wants to be that picture that you think of when you think of a strong government, when you think of a strong military (and) when you think of a strong police force,” Missouri State University communications expert Elizabeth Dudash-Buskirk told the AP.

A spokesman for Greitens assured reporters that his videotaped exploits don’t require a full-time staffer and are done at no cost to Missouri taxpayers.

Contact Nathan Guttman at [email protected] or on Twitter @nathanguttman

Nathan Guttman, staff writer, was the Forward’s Washington bureau chief. He joined the staff in 2006 after serving for five years as Washington correspondent for the Israeli dailies Haaretz and The Jerusalem Post. In Israel, he was the features editor for Ha’aretz and chief editor of Channel 1 TV evening news. He was born in Canada and grew up in Israel. He is a graduate of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.