Chris Christie’s turn as WFAN host goes exactly as you’d expect

    Dylan Stableford
    Senior Editor
    New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, right, with his family and friends at Island Beach State Park in New Jersey on July 2. (Andrew Mills/NJ Advance Media via AP)

    New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie kicked off his public audition to replace the outgoing host of a popular New York sports talk radio show on Monday by calling a caller a “communist” and Hillary Clinton “a criminal.”

    Christie — who is filling in as a co-host for WFAN’s Mike Francesa this week as the station seeks a permanent replacement — fielded an angry phone call from a man who identified himself as “Mike from Montclair,” who criticized the governor for his now infamous sunbathing session on a beach closed to the public during a government shutdown.

    “Governor, next time you want to sit on a beach that is closed to the entire world except you, you put your fat ass in a car and go to one that’s open to all your constituents,” the caller told Christie.

    “You know, Mike, I love getting calls from communists in Montclair,” Christie replied.

    “You’re a bully, governor, and I don’t like bullies,” the caller replied.

    “I’m not the one who came on the air, who swore on the air,” Christie shot back. “You’re a bum.”


    Another caller lambasted Christie for supporting a “treasonous weasel” like President Trump.

    “I’m enormously relieved we don’t have a criminal in the White House like Hillary Clinton,” Christie said.

    Christie stumped for Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign after abandoning his own bid for the Republican nomination, and briefly served as chairman of Trump’s transition team following the election.

    A Monmouth University poll released Monday showed the New Jersey governor’s job approval rating at a record-low 15 percent, while 80 percent disapprove. The same survey found 86 percent of the 800 New Jerseyans polled saw the photos of Christie and his family sitting on the near-empty beach.

    When asked to describe how those images made them feel, two-thirds of the respondents “expressed a negative sentiment,” with “disgusted” (7 percent), “anger” (7 percent), “disbelief” (6 percent) “selfish” (5 percent) and “hypocrite” (4 percent) among the commonly used words.

    “Another 6 percent of those polled simply used some form of profanity to express their sentiments about Christie’s beach day,” read a summary of the survey’s findings.

    Christie has long been rumored as a possible replacement for Francesa, who is leaving WFAN in December after 30 years at the station. Christie is not seeking reelection as governor. His term as governor ends in January.

    Earlier this year, Christie downplayed rumors of a possible postgubernatorial career in radio as well as a potential post in Trump’s White House.

    “I’m going to keep my powder dry and see what the best offer is,” he said.

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