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Christie Says He's No Longer Seeking Job With WFAN After Leaving Office

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Sunday that he is no longer seeking a job on WFAN sports talk radio once he leaves office.

Christie made the announcement Sunday. It came one day after the New York Daily News reported that WFAN had told him he was no longer being considered as a replacement for longtime afternoon host Mike Francesa.

Christie said that report was "completely incorrect."

Christie's term is up in January. He has made numerous appearances as a fill-in host on the station and had a two-day on-air audition last month.

During the audition, Christie joked about his use of a state-owned beach that was closed during a government shutdown and his low approval rating and took a shot at Hillary Clinton. He was also confronted by some angry callers.

One listener, Mike in Montclair, told Christie: "Next time you want to sit on a beach that is closed to the entire world except you, you put your fat a-- in a car and go to one that's open to all your constituents."

"I love getting calls from communists in Montclair," the governor shot back.

"You're a bully, Governor, and I don't like bullies," Mike responded.

WFAN's Evan Roberts, co-hosting with Christie on both Monday and Tuesday afternoons, opened the show by poking fun at the Republican governor for being photographed from an airplane as he sat in a beach chair at Island Beach State Park earlier this month.

"We have Gov. Christie, who's kind enough to be in the studio, not at the beach," Roberts said.

"Awwwhhh, that's nice. That's very nice," Christie responded before saying Roberts had asked the governor to sneak him and his family onto the beach.

Christie, a loyal Mets fan, revealed that he was wearing a Mets shirt, Mets shorts and a 2006 NLCS Mets cap in the now-infamous photos taken by NJ.com.

Roberts made it clear, however, he didn't want the show to turn political.

"We're going to do a sports show, by the way, people," he said.

Christie said WFAN management approached him three weeks ago about doing more shows with other potential co-hosts, but soon after, he declined the offer.

"After considering the other options that I have been presented with for post-gubernatorial employment, I declined their request to do additional shows," Christie said in a statement issued by his office. "I made station executives aware that while I would be happy to continue to fill in for (WFAN morning show co-host) Boomer Esiason when asked and when available, that they should no longer consider me as a candidate interested in any job at WFAN when I leave the Governorship. I made that clear to them prior to leaving for my family vacation two weeks ago."

Christie did not provide specific details about the "post-gubernatorial employment" options he has been presented with, and his spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for that information. Christie is prohibited from negotiating future employment while still serving as governor.

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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