Mike Davis

@byMikeDavis

LINDEN – Gov. Chris Christie wouldn’t have attended the Monday funeral of a state trooper killed last week, even if he was in New Jersey, he said on Tuesday.

During a 45-minute press conference at HelloFresh, a subscription-based food and recipe service, Christie addressed economic growth and a bill to allow casinos in North Jersey.

But for the majority of the afternoon, Christie deflected multiple questions about his relationship with Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump and the decision to campaign with him Monday in North Carolina, Florida and Ohio instead of attending a police funeral.

Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno attended the funeral of 31-year-old Sean Cullen, a New Jersey State Police trooper, who was struck by a passing vehicle March 7. He died the following day. The decision was made well before Trump called asking for Christie to appear with him, the governor said.

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“This is no different than what we’ve done for any of these tragic events in the last six and a half years,” Christie said.

He had already asked Guadagno to attend the funeral and was planning on attending a groundbreaking event in Essex County, Christie said.

“The balance is between your public obligations and your personal obligations. That’s OK,” he said.

Chris Burgos, president of the State Troopers Fraternal Association, called the protocol a “lie” in a telephone interview on Tuesday.

“We never heard this. Ever. Ever,” Burgos said. “I think it’s another of his falsehoods. If he believes what he’s saying, he’s the only one. It’s not true.”

In May, Christie attended the funeral of trooper Anthony Raspa, along with Guadagno. Burgos said governors – including Christie — have attended “funerals for fallen troopers over my 30 years.”

“This administration has had a number of conflicts with unions,” Christie said, responding to Burgos’s Monday comments that he “never expected” Christie to attend. “The rank-and-file folks are who I’m concerned about, not the union heads in Trenton fighting us in the Supreme Court to bankrupt the pension system.”

Christie endorsed Trump in February — shortly after suspending his own presidential campaign — and has accompanied him on the campaign trail. He recently dismissed any notion that he would be a full-time surrogate for Trump and insisted that he was committed to being governor.

But his appearances with Trump have taken on a life of their own via social media and late-night television, with Christie sometimes portrayed as an unwilling participant in Trump’s escapades.

A photograph taken on Monday afternoon showed Trump and Christie leaving an airplane in the rain, Trump holding a red umbrella and Christie without one. Christie said this was done at his own behest.

And speaking to a crowd of Ohio Trump supporters later, Trump joked that Gov. John Kasich of Ohio – another presidential hopeful – “spent more time in New Hampshire than Chris Christie."

It was all in good fun, Christie said, a wink and nod at private conversations the two had earlier in the election cycle.

WATCH: Trump mocks Christie to make point

“I know my relationship with Donald and it’s been that way for 14 years. I’m not insulted in the least,” he said. “It was a joke, a funny joke and partially an inside joke.

“When you’re there to help candidates, you’re not the show … It may be hard for you to believe, after covering me for all this time, that I’m willing to take the backseat to someone. But when you’re supporting other candidates, that’s the role you take,” Christie said.

Jobs, casinos, lead and more

The press conference was called to discuss "jobs and the economy," a way for Christie to highlight Monday's U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report, which showed the state's job growth on its fastest track since the tech boom of the late 1990s.

At the same time, the state's unemployment rate came in at 4.5 percent, the lowest level since November 2007 and lower than the national rate.

Christie used HelloFresh highlight the benefits of Grow NJ, the state's economic incentive program. The five-year-old Linden business has already outgrown its second headquarters and was looking for a new U.S. headquarters in Newark.

The company considered both Pennsylvania and New York, but was able to receive $25 million in incentives to build in New Jersey, Christie said.

"It’s important when you see the faces of the men and women who are working here. This is their job. This is how they help to support their families," Christie said. "Their lives are being made better by having a place to go to work everyday."

The governor also touched on other topics:

Christie reiterated his support for building two new casinos in northern New Jersey. A bill proposing a constitutional amendment cleared both the Senate and Assembly on Monday. The ballot measure will appear before voters in November. "We can't write off (developers) from New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania wanting to come into the northern part of our state with some new, really attractive gaming facilities," he said.

Within 48 hours of the Newark school district voluntarily notifying the state Department of Environmental Protection of lead levels in its water supply, bottled water from the state's homeland security stockpile was delivered. "This is a situation we're concerned about, but it's not a crisis. We don't want to let it become a crisis," the governor said.

Staff writer Bob Jordan contributed to this report.

Mike Davis: (732) 643-4223; mdavis@gannettnj.com.