Boston (CNN) - An adviser to Chris Christie is flatly denying a report that the New Jersey governor turned down an offer from the Romney campaign to appear at a Sunday night campaign rally in Pennsylvania.
Asked if the Romney campaign extended the invitation, longtime Christie confidante Bill Palatucci answered with a simple "No."
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The Huffington Post reported late Monday that Romney officials asked Christie to appear with the Republican presidential nominee at a large outdoor rally in the Philadelphia suburb of Morrisville, a stone's throw from the New Jersey capital of Trenton.
Christie reportedly declined the offer, rankling a Romney team already frustrated by Christie's effusive praise of President Barack Obama during their tour of the New Jersey communities damaged by Hurricane Sandy last week.
"You can't tell me he couldn't have gone over there for a night rally," a Romney campaign source groused to Huffington Post.
Palatucci said no one from the Romney campaign reached out.
"They knew better than to ask given the situation here," Palatucci told CNN.
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