--- 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: 2026-10-08T09:21:37.252Z 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 > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=5af65355-975e-4094-b4f5-271280bb4894&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: ‘I Don’t Apologize for It.’ Chris Christie Defends Beach Visit During Shutdown [Watch (HLS stream): ‘I Don’t Apologize for It.’ Chris Christie Defends Beach Visit During Shutdown](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/XNzBn6Xq.m3u8) (1:34)  _Published 2017-07-04. Chris Christie defends his beach visit during the New Jersey government's shutdown_ by [Lisa Marie Segarra](https://time.com/author/lisa-marie-segarra/) ## Lisa Marie Segarra Jul 4, 2017 2:53 PM UTC 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/) ## Transcript You know, I don't count going out on the beach after I have been working all morning to sit and talk with my wife and our guests for 40 minutes before I had to leave and come back to work as getting sun. That wasn't what I was out there to get. The way I took Cord's question was. Hey, were you out laying out getting tan today? That wasn't what I was doing and that's not what those pictures show. I don't apologize for it. I don't back away from it. And I think my poll numbers show that I don't care about political optics. What care about is doing what's right and wrong. And what was right for my family was for my family to be together. And for me to be with them and to do what we were doing. I understand, probably better than any other governor who's had this job, what it's like to get a lot of attention. And that cuts both ways. But if you think for a second that what happened over the last 24 hours, Would bother me a bit or make me change my mind about the way I interact with my wife and my children. No job, not this one or any other, is more important to me than my relationship with my wife and my relationship with my kids. And shame on those people. Who wanted to make this. As if we were taking advantage or something. I just don't agree with it nor believe it. 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