Clip of Christie confrontation with sports radio caller goes viral – The Hill

A clip of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) getting into a confrontation with a sports talk radio caller went viral on Monday.

Christie is appearing on New York City’s WFAN, the biggest sports talk radio station in the city and one of the most profitable radio stations in the country, to fill for host Mike Francesa during the station’s afternoon time slots. Rumors have linked Christie to possibly having a future full-time spot on the show when Francesca retires at the end of 2017.

During Monday’s show, a caller named “Mike” from Montclair, N.J., blasted Christie for his recent trip to a state beach after he ordered state beaches and parks closed due to 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 said. “Not just you and yours.”

Christie fired back at the caller, calling him a “communist.”

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

The caller quickly interrupted, saying “you’re a bully, governor, and I don’t like bullies.”

Christie knocked the caller for “swearing on the air” and called the man “a bum.” The caller then slammed Christie’s beach trip as “bad optics.”

“I’d love to come look at your optics every day, buddy,” Christie shot back.

The caller, Mike from Montclair, is a well-known staple of Francesa’s show. A 2014 story from sports blog SportsOnEarth about Francesa’s show says Mike has called into the show more than 500 times in the past 20 years.

Christie was first floated as a possible replacement for Francesca in February. WFAN’s programming director Mark Chernoff told the Bergen Record then that he would “at least want to consider” Christie.

“If he’s interested and we’re interested, it’s worth pursuing,” Chernoff said at the time.

The clip of Christie’s confrontation quickly went viral on social media.

Someone just called Christie a “fat ass” on @WFAN660.

Christie calls him a “communist.”

This radio audition is going well.

— Matt Katz (@mattkatz00) July 10, 2017

This is amazing. And If you think this means Christie’s audition is going badly, you’ve never listened to New York sports talk radio. https://t.co/oxfLa7GgTp

— Bradd Jaffy (@BraddJaffy) July 10, 2017

Pretty rad of Christie to volunteer himself for an experiment to see if approval rating can actually hit zero

— Comfortably Smug (@ComfortablySmug) July 10, 2017

This is classic. Christie: “I’d like to come look at your optics, buddy.” This is an actual quote. https://t.co/7OBXsPQ2g0

— Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) July 10, 2017