Gov. Chris Christie has denied that he got any "sun" over the weekend, but photos of him at a government-owned beach he closed prove otherwise. Hence, the GOP member is currently under fire for staying at the Island Beach State Park in the wake of visitation ban he imposed after the lawmakers failed to pass a new budget for New Jersey on Friday.
The deadlock has compelled the governor to shut down all 40 state-owned establishments and properties -- including parks, beaches, historic sites, and recreational areas -- which only means that no one is allowed to visit these landmarks until the Legislature breaks the deadlock.
A state shutdown with an exception?
Gov. Christie, however, made an exception when he and his family enjoyed a closed public beach all for themselves on Sunday. Several photos of them were released after the GOP member seemingly denied that he was at the beach before he returned to Trenton to hold a press conference.
His denial was even defended by his spokesperson, Brian Murray, who argued that the governor did not get any "sun" because he was wearing a baseball hat. He explained the same thing to MSNBC's Katy Tur and insisted that the reporter was being vague when he asked the question to Gov. Christie.
“Because they didn’t ask, "Are you on the beach?" They asked, "Did you get some sun?" He was on the beach for 45 minutes and back in Trenton that day.
So, no he didn't," Murray said on Monday.
Beachgoers cheer as banner plane telling Gov. Christie to "get the hell of the beach" passes by. pic.twitter.com/7D4qXGqGRX
— JSHN (@JSHurricaneNews) July 3, 2017
The spokesman also said the governor's beach photos are just optics and should not be considered a scandal. In fact, Murray claimed there was nothing wrong with the photographs and accused the media of making a big deal out of it.
He explained that the spot where Gov. Christie and his family were lounging are still part of his residence which gives him the right to access.
Banner plane asks NJ governor to vacate
The GOP member specifically slammed a local news outlet for running his beach photos on their front page. Gov. Christie sarcastically lauded the agency for following him and his family on their whereabouts and added they will surely get a Pulitzer Prize for a job well done.
His explanations, however, did not convince the public as a towline flying around the beaches of New Jersey asked the governor to "get the hell off Island Beach State Park" which seemingly mirrored Gov. Christie's Hurricane warning where he ordered his constituents to "get the hell off the beach."
