Chris Christie is not apologizing for beach trip during government shutdown

Chris Christie may have the lowest ratings of any governor in any state in the past 20 years, but even that didn’t stop him and his family from soaking up the sun on a New Jersey beach closed to the public because of a government shutdown.

“I don’t apologize for it. I don’t back away from it,” Christie said late Monday as the New Jersey state government moved toward agreeing on a budget. “I think my poll numbers show I don’t care about political optics.”

Christie’s comments came 24 hours after pictures published by the Star-Ledger newspaper showed Christie and his family lounging in front of a beachside residence at Island Beach State Park, which is given to the governor to use while in office. “Let’s be really clear: That’s our residence and we have a right to be there whenever we want to be there,” Christie said.

The images showed the rest of the beach deserted, but Christie claimed the media cherrypicked photographs to suggest that his was the only family on the beach. “I understand it’s a holiday weekend and the news channels don’t have anything else to cover,” Christie said, adding that just 17 kilometers of the 209 km coastline were closed.

According to figures from a Quinnipiac University poll, just 15 percent of people surveyed think Christie is doing a good job, the lowest approval rating in any state for over 20 years. Montclair State University political science professor Brigid Harrison told AP: “The photos are likely the nails in Christie’s political coffin that drive his approval ratings into the single digits.”

Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, who is set to be the Republican candidate for New Jersey governor in November’s elections, slammed Christie on Facebook, saying she “sure wouldn’t be sitting on the beach if taxpayers didn’t have access to state beaches. It’s beyond words.”

On Tuesday morning the New Jersey governor posted an image of himself finally signing the $34.7 billion budget, which initially failed to pass. That impasse led to a government shutdown of all but essential services, including lifeguards.

Christie initially denied he had been on the beach Sunday, telling a press conference later that day, “I didn’t. I didn’t get any sun today.” When informed about the photograph, a spokesperson for the governor confirmed he was at the beach, but added: “He did not get any sun. He had a baseball hat on.”

Christie defended his decision to go to the beach, saying it isn’t often he gets to spend time with all his family. He said his son had planned the get-together a month ago, and that friends of his son and daughter had travelled to spend the weekend with them.

The governor added that he didn’t ask for any government services while they were at the residence, such as lifeguards or garbage collection, which were affected by the shutdown.