CHRISTIE MAKES CAMEO VIDEO FOR DEMOCRAT BY MISTAKE

Chris Christie, former New Jersey governor, on Thursday became the latest Republican politician to be fooled into making a campaign video on behalf of a Democrat.

Christie is one of many of President Donald Trump’s current and former associates available for hire on Cameo, an app that allows users to commission personalized videos from minor — and increasingly major — celebrities.

The video, which cost $ 200, was framed as a jovial message to a person named Greg, who Christie was prompted to encourage to return to New Jersey, Greg’s former home.

What Christie did not know was that the video was meant for Greg Gianforte, the Republican nominee in Montana’s governor’s race. It was commissioned by the campaign of Gianforte’s opponent, Mike Cooney.

Cooney’s staff ordered up the Cameo video Wednesday, and Christie turned the assignment around quickly, delivering it that evening. ( The celebrities available for hire on Cameo are told who to address in their video but usually do not know the identity of the recipient.)

“Think about everything we got back here,” Christie says in the video, cajoling “Greg” to return to New Jersey. “We got Taylor ham. We’ve got Bruce Springsteen. We’ve got Jon Bon Jovi. We’ve got the Jersey Shore. We’ve got the boardwalks.”

“We’ve got all that stuff back here that is waiting for you, but more than anything else, Mike and your whole family, they want you back here,” he added.

Then he jokingly threatened to retrieve the addressee himself, if he wouldn’t return willingly. “I don’t think that’s what you want, Greg,” Christie said.

On Thursday, Cooney posted the video on Twitter, framing it as a “special message” for his opponent.

Christie responded by telling NJ Advance Media that he had been hoodwinked, and he tweeted about the incident, emphasizing that he was on Cameo for the benefit of a New Jersey- based charity.

“Shame on @ CooneyforMT,” he said in his tweet, stating his support for Gianforte. ( With five days to go, the Montana governor’s race is tight; in a poll released Wednesday, Cooney and Gianforte were tied.)

The idea to prank Christie originated with Cooney’s campaign manager, Brad Elkins, who spotted the former governor on Cameo. The move was meant to emphasize a message that Cooney’s campaign has been pushing: that Gianforte — who was born in California and spent his early adulthood in New Jersey — is an outsider, with outsider values.

“It’s been a fun day,” said Matt Fidel, a campaign spokesman.