It was New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie to the rescue when a big spider crawled onto his desk during a visit by local schoolchildren.
In a video posted online, several of the students point out the arachnid near Christie's phone.
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The governor's response? He quickly smashes the spider, then wipes the remains on his pants.
"That's also one of the fun parts of being governor. Any bugs on your desk you're allowed to kill them and not get in trouble," Christie says on the video posted by his office.
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The kids may have loved it, but PETA says the governor missed out on a teachable moment.
"He probably did it without thinking," the group's president, Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement. "Some people put the spider outside, but spiders are often scary to people, and that can prevent them from pondering their worth."
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