New Jersey Governor Chris Christie Vilified on Social Media for Visit to Closed Beach

Governor and family seen on patron-less beach closed by government shutdown.

July 3, 2017 10:38 am
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie Embroils Himself in 'Beachgate'
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie speaks during the 'Managing the Disruption' conference held at the Tideline Ocean Resort on April 3, 2017 in Palm Beach, Florida. The conference is put on by the Greene Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to finding, developing, and promoting strategies for increasing upward mobility in America. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

New Jersey governor Chris Christie has apparently traded in Bridgegate for Beachgate.

As NJ.com reported, Christie and his family were photographed enjoying a beautiful July day at the beach on the Jersey Shore at Island Beach State Park. But there was one big problem: As governor, Christie had closed the beach to the public as part of a government shutdown.

A post shared by NJ.com (@njdotcom) on

NJ.com published exclusive aerial photos of Christie like the one above, including a close-up, showing the governor wearing a baseball cap, T-shirt, and shorts; his wife, in a bathing suit and cap; and extended family around him enjoying the completely patron-less beach.

At a news conference later in the day, the governor was asked whether he’d gotten any sun that day and replied that he hadn’t. But the aerial photos of the visit led to a tremendous backlash against the governor on social media.

Gov. Christie is staying at a beach house provided to him by the state; and using a helicopter to fly back and forth between the vacation house and Trenton, New Jersey, where the state government is based.

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