Many of New Jersey's public parks and beaches closed down completely this weekend, after Gov. Chris Christie ordered a government shutdown Friday night due to a budget impasse.
The Legislature’s inability to approve an FY18 State Budget by the June 30th deadline has forced the closure of state government.
That means residents and vacationers haven't been able to enjoy the holiday weekend at any of New Jersey's 50 state-run outdoor rec areas and historic sites. Obviously people are not pleased.
Chris Christie closed the Statue of Liberty on the 4th of July. I have no punchline, folks. That's it. #njshutdown
But while police blockades turned thousands of beachgoers away from the shore Sunday, there was one person who got lie on the beach and catch some rays — the governor himself.
Christie ordered beaches closed down due to a gov shutdown. Today, he and his family enjoyed a state beach alone… https://t.co/Uh9TS6gCWq
Because while Island Beach State Park was closed to the public, Christie still had access to the state residence located right on the shore. NJ.com captured photos of the governor lounging and playing games Sunday afternoon on a completely empty beach.
We flew a plane over the Shore today and look who we found! https://t.co/CCvntR5Xj1
The embattled governor ordered emergency legislative sessions Saturday and Sunday to deal with the budget gridlock, and spent the weekend helicoptering back and forth to the beach, apparently unfazed by the mounting outrage over his exclusive beach access.
"That’s because the governor has a residence at Island Beach — others don’t,” he told reporters Saturday "That's the way it goes. Run for governor, and you can have the residence."
Asked whether it was "fair" for him to enjoy the beach he'd shut down for the rest of the state, Christie pointed out that his family would not be "asking for any services" usually provided at the state park.
It's a 57-mile drive, so Christie took the publicly-owned chopper to his publicly-owned beach house amid government… https://t.co/uygmGKE7iU
Apparently unaware of the photos, Christie told reporters Sunday that he "didn't get any sun today."
"I didn't get any sun today." -Christie on govt shutdown that closed state beaches to all but him.Yet hours earlier… https://t.co/5TsbbMG4tI
When informed later that the governor had been captured plopped down on a beach chair, Christie's spokesperson, Brian Murray, admitted that "yes, the governor was on the beach briefly today talking to his wife and family before heading into the office."
"He did not get any sun," Murray added. "He had a baseball hat on."
Christie defended his beach trip again Monday, telling Fox News that he had every right to be there.
"The governor is allowed to go to his residences and I'm at my residences. I'll tell you this, I said last Monday, a week ago today, that no matter what happens, we were coming here as a family this weekend," he said.
The Republican governor also slammed NJ.com for taking and posting the photos, sarcastically calling it a "great piece of journalism."
"They actually caught a politician being where he said he was going to be with the people he said he was going to be with, his wife and children and their friends. I am sure they will get a Pulitzer for this one," Christie said. "They caught me doing what I said I was going to do with the people I said I was going to be with."
And, yes, people had a lot of feelings about all this, including the state's lieutenant governor, who called it "beyond words."
It’s beyond words. If I were gov, sure wouldn’t be sitting on beach if taxpayers didn’t have access to state beaches https://t.co/VBtBpoUUkv
TFW you're sure no one saw you sneak off to the beach & you start to think maybe things are looking up for old Chri… https://t.co/yzPIb5iabS
can we just close off that one beach permenantly with Chris Christie trapped inside
hey @chrischristie the tax payers of new jersey deserve to go to the beach on 4th of july. thanks for doubling down on being a piece of shit
Must be nice! https://t.co/t9UeJl8IRV
Has anybody put up a gofundme for the horrible crimes Chris Christie committed against that beach chair? Poor thing.
They pointed out that other New Jersey beaches were packed this weekend due to the shutdown.
Chris Christie's beach vs. everybody else's beach. Perfect metaphor.
It's kind of amazing how much Christie just owns being an awful person https://t.co/LsSLOo50OM
@yashar Today was the day Chris Christie became President.
While others had a more positive spin.
In these divided times, it's nice to be reminded that we can all come together and hate Chris Christie equally. #Merica
In all fairness, did we really want to see Chris Christie on a beach? 😱