--- title: Chris Christie on Beach Photos: 'I Don't Apologize For It' description: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie refused to apologize for pictures of him on a beach that was closed to a government shutdown canonical: https://time.com/4844434/chris-christie-defends-beach-photos-shutdown/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-07-04T14:53:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T16:25:42.781Z article:section: Politics og:title: 'I Don't Apologize for It.' Chris Christie Defends His Beach Visit During Shutdown og:description: "I don’t back away from it." og:url: https://time.com/4844434/chris-christie-defends-beach-photos-shutdown/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c9c0cb5bf083266/6988d45fcf40a81190c48677/gettyimages-664130184-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: chris-christie-defneds-beach-photos og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'I Don't Apologize for It.' Chris Christie Defends His Beach Visit During Shutdown twitter:description: "I don’t back away from it." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt7c9c0cb5bf083266/6988d45fcf40a81190c48677/gettyimages-664130184-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 'I Don't Apologize for It.' Chris Christie Defends His Beach Visit During Shutdown by [Lisa Marie Segarra](https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Jul 4, 2017 2:53 PM UTC  PALM BEACH, FL - APRIL 03: 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. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) PALM BEACH, FL - APRIL 03: 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. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)Joe Raedle—Getty by [Lisa Marie Segarra](https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Jul 4, 2017 2:53 PM UTC [New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie](http://time.com/4844284/christ-christie-budget-deal-government-shutdown/) has refused to apologize for pictures of him on a beach that was closed to the public due to a government shutdown. “I don’t apologize for it. I don’t back away from it,” Christie said Monday night after reaching a budget agreement with the state legislature, ending the shutdown. “Let’s be really clear. That’s our residence, and we have a right to be there whenever we want to be there.” State beaches were closed during a three-day government shutdown in New Jersey. All other beaches remained open. [The Star Ledger captured photos of Christie](http://time.com/4843444/chris-christie-beach-photos-shutdown-new-jersey/?xid=homepage) on one of the closed state beaches. The house at Island Beach State Park is given to the governor in office. He said that the beach trip was planned a month ago by his son who was visiting from Milwaukee. Christie also [said recently he wasn’t concerned](http://time.com/4826319/chris-christie-new-jersey-approval-rating-who-cares/) about his disapproval ratings, which made him [the most disliked governor of the past 20 years in any state.](http://time.com/4818151/chris-christie-poll-new-jersey/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4844434/chris-christie-defends-beach-photos-shutdown/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4844434/chris-christie-defends-beach-photos-shutdown/"},"headline":"'I Don't Apologize for It.' 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