A banner flown over the New Jersey shore on Monday told unpopular Gov. Chris Christie to “get the hell off” the beach—a day after Christie was photographed sunning himself on a beach, despite having closed all state beaches and parks with a government shutdown.
The banner, which said “Get The Hell Off Island Beach State Park” was met with cheers, the New Jersey Star-Ledger reported. Christie had ordered a government shutdown Friday when the state legislature was unable to pass a budget.
The shutdown closed all state beaches and parks, leaving Garden State residents the choice of either going home or packing into the few private beaches in the state.
But the move spectacularly backfired Sunday when Christie was photographed by the Star-Ledger in a t-shirt and baseball cap on the beach outside the governor’s residence
Christie was asked at a press conference before the pictures emerged Sunday if he had gotten any sun, to which he replied, “I didn’t get any sun today.”
Christie’s team tried to downplay his comments after the photos emerged, saying he didn’t get any sun as “he had a baseball hat on.” Christie had also noted that the beach was outside the governor’s residence and separate from the park, and the family does not request any state services.
“Run for governor, and you can have a residence there,” he said.
The Ledger reports that the ad was a jab at a warning Christie made ahead of Hurricane Irene in 2011 where he told people to “get the hell off the beach.”
Legislators came to a deal that Christie put his signature to on Tuesday, ending the shutdown and reopening the beaches for the Independence Day celebration. The deal reshapes Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield—the state’s largest health insurer.
Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in New York. Follow Adam on Twitter: @AdamShawNY