Defiant Chris Christie says he only shut down public beach because “I ran out of bridges”
NEWARK -- On Tuesday, embattled New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie defiantly told reporters that the only reason he shut down "that public beach was because I ran out of bridges."
This weekend, Christie faced withering criticism after he ordered beaches across the Garden State to be closed in reaction to the ongoing budget impasse in the state's legislature.
Furor erupted 48 hours later, when photos from NJ Advance Media captured Christie sunning himself with his family on Island Beach State Park, surrounded by emptiness.
At a press conference, Christie called the public's outrage about the beach closure "patently absurd," pointing to his long record of shutting down "anything I can, whenever I can, because I can, and whether or not it's legal" - including highways, bridges, schools and legitimate veins of criticism.
Christie, whose approval rating among New Jersey residents has plummeted to 13 percent, insisted that he had every right to use Island Beach State Park to throw a "fabulous private beach party" for his six remaining supporters and his son.
"I'm the Governor. You're not. And that's politics," he shouted bullishly at a reporter.
Another reporter asked whether the beach party had indeed helped Christie win over the majority of New Jersey residents who dislike him and the job he's doing for his state. Christie confidently said that his son still hates him, but he's working on it.
Christie said that at the beach party, he performed an animal sacrifice to Poseidon in the hopes that the sea god would restore New Jersey's glory days by bringing back Hurricane Sandy.
President Hillary Rodham Clinton did not comment on Christie's beach party, but White House Press Secretary Leslie Jones said it's nice that Christie could catch a last glimpse the beach before going to jail.
