Christie Denies Account of Election-Night Trump Spat

A new book alleges that Chris Christie ticked off Donald Trump on election night with an offer to let Trump use his phone, but the New Jersey governor is dismissing the account as bogus. In an interview with MSNBC, Christie took issue with Devil’s Bargain: Steve Bannon, Donald Trump and the Storming of the Presidency, by Joshua Green of Bloomberg. Green wrote that on election night, Christie approached Trump and offered to let him use his phone to accept a congratulatory call from President Obama, per NBC News. Trump reportedly responded angrily, saying that he didn't want to use Christie's phone and that Christie should instead give Obama his direct number.

"The book is wrong fundamentally in that there was no call from President Obama that evening," says Christie. "I didn’t speak to the president that night at all." Instead, he says a senior member of Obama's staff called him to ask how they could get in touch with Trump should he win. "And I said, ‘Just call my phone and I’ll give you his number,'" said Christie. He says he passed along the exchange to Trump as good news. "I said, ‘I think they think at the White House you're going to win, because they’re calling and asking how to get in touch with you after that happens." Christie was in charge of Trump's transition team at the time, though he would be fired days later, notes USA Today. (More Chris Christie stories.)