The man who caught New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie lounging on one of the state’s closed beaches leading up to the Independence Day holiday said it all unfolded based on a gut instinct.
Twitter and social media sites were awash with Chris Christie memes on Monday as New Jersey’s budget battle became national news. Images captured by New Jersey Advanced Media’s Andrew Mills on Sunday show the governor and his family monopolizing an entire beach closed to the public as a result of that dispute.
“I think I’m the only one in America not mad at #ChrisChristie,” bestselling author Brad Thor tweeted with an image of the governor peeking out from behind one of his books.
Mr. Christie and his team say he did nothing wrong by using the beach just outside the governor’s residence, although Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno called the decision “beyond words.”
“Originally, NJ Advance Media had booked a plane for the Fourth of July,” Mr. Mills said for a piece titled “The plane truth: How we caught Chris Christie sunbathing on a closed beach.”
“The plan was to fly along the Jersey Shore on the holiday and shoot the crowded beaches, juxtaposed with the empty stretches of sand that were off-limits because of the government shutdown, if it were still in effect. But when Sunday’s weather looked good, and the governor’s schedule was open except for an afternoon press briefing in Trenton, I wondered, ’What are the chances…?’ I called the pilot. ’Let’s take a shot,’ I said.”
SEE ALSO: Chris Christie’s elitist beach trip all that’s wrong with government
The governor, despite being caught by the photojournalist, told reporters that he did not get “any sun” on Sunday.
“In one photo, Christie looks me dead in the eye,” Mr. Mills said for NJ.com. “He has to know what’s happening. Why else would a plane make two passes over his private beach party when there’s no one else around? Did we know he would be sunbathing on a closed beach? No, but we took a shot and it paid off.”
Brian Murray, Mr. Christie’s spokesman, told CNN that news outlets should be more focused on the New Jersey state legislature.
“This [beach] was closed because of the current failure of the legislature to get a budget for the governor to sign,” Mr. Murray said, The Washington Times reported. “If we can get a budget, he’ll sign it and we can reopen the park and we can open the beaches.”
“NJ beaches are open in 119 of our our 130 miles of coastline,” the governor tweeted Monday. “Come and enjoy them — but use sunscreen and hydrate!”
I think I’m the only one in America not mad at #ChrisChristie pic.twitter.com/PXPvjPUepn
— Brad Thor (@BradThor) July 3, 2017
SEE ALSO: Chris Christie spends weekend at a beach he closed during budget battle
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.