EXETER, N.H. — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) on Sunday called President Obama the “most pessimistic man I’ve ever seen” and said he is faking anger to win reelection.

Christie, appearing alongside GOP presidential front-runner Mitt Romney at a campaign rally at a high school here, accused the president of a cynical effort to redirect the anger of the American people by appearing angry himself.

“I have a suggestion for the president: He doesn’t do angry well,” Christie said. “He understands that the American people are angry and they’re scared and they’re worried about the future. So he’s decided, in the most cynical reelection strategy that you could ever think of, that he doesn’t care if you’re angry, he just wants you to be angry at somebody else.”

As with other New Hampshire gatherings, the Romney-Christie event was marked at least in part by protesters.

The demonstrators began by chanting “Mitt kills jobs” when Romney spoke and then, when the microphone was handed to Christie, shifted to “Christie kills jobs.”