Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie apparently turned down offers to join the Trump administration no fewer than seven times.
At a recent event to promote his new book, Christie listed off a whole series of jobs that Trump offered him back in 2016, noting that some offers were extended more than once, reports Axios. "Secretary of Labor, twice," he said. "Secretary of Homeland Security, twice. Ambassador to Rome. Ambassador to the Vatican. And special assistant to the president."
This may not even be an exhaustive list, as CNN had reported in 2016 that Trump also offered Christie the job of Veterans Affairs secretary, which he didn't mention this week. According to that report, the only job Christie actually wanted was attorney general, but Trump didn't offer that.
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Of course, Christie is only talking about the transition here; more recently, Trump met with Christie about possibly being his next chief of staff in December, but Christie withdrew from consideration, saying, "now is not the right time for me or my family to undertake this serious assignment."
Based on Christie's book, in which he describes the administration as consisting of "amateurs, grifters, weaklings, convicted and unconvicted felons," it sounds like he feels he dodged a bullet.
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