Gov Chris Christie of New Jersey, used his beach stunt to help him get a media deal once his term in office expires, former Fox News host Bill O'Reilly said.
"What better way to get his name out there as a controversial guy, than to go to his lavish beach home – as the state of New Jersey provides their governors – when all of the other beaches are closed when the state couldn't pass a budget," O'Reilly told Friday's "The Glenn Beck Show."
"So he's the only one on the beach, and then he allows himself to be photographed in a lounge chair with this grin on his face. He knows what he's doing. He's engendering controversy to get his name out there so he'll get some kind of media play."
O'Reilly's claim was met with resistance from Christie's spokesman Brian Murray, who said it was "such a ridiculous comment that it merits no substantive response at all," according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Currently the most unpopular governor in America, the most unpopular ever in New Jersey, and No. 4 in the least popular governor ever at just 15 percent, per "The Glenn Beck Show," the maligned Christie knows he is "out of the public service business," O'Reilly told the show.
Christie might be considered a replacement for WFAN's sports radio host Mike Francesa, whom he will be filling in for this week.
O'Reilly believes Christie's next endeavor will be as a sports commentary personality, adding Christie can go to news, too, but only "on the radio, I don't think he can do TV."
But with public service now out of the question, media is Christie's focus for when his term ends January 2018.
"That's what he's angling for, and I think he’s going to get some kind of media contract, I do," O'Reilly concluded.
O'Reilly hosts a podcast on BillOReilly.com and released another historical book called "Bill O'Reilly's Legends and Lies: The Civil War," published by Henry Holt.
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