At a news conference announcing he has struck a deal to end the government shutdown, the New Jersey governor says of his sunbathing scandal, 'Whenever I get done tonight, I’ll go back to the beach.'
- Jul 4, 2017
AceShowbiz - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and the state's Democratic leaders have reached a budget compromise. Christie announced on late Monday, July 3 that he had struck the deal to end a three-day shutdown of the state government.
"I'm saddened that it's three days late, but I'll sign the budget tonight," he said at a news conference in Trenton. Christie signed the deal on early Tuesday, following public outcry over his use of a beach which he closed for public amid the impasse.
Today I signed my final balanced budget, delivering 2 full terms of unprecedented pension stability, fiscal responsibility & tax relief. pic.twitter.com/3oUmzENLNR
— Governor Christie (@GovChristie) July 4, 2017
The Democrats announced the agreement in separate news conference on Monday night. The deal is expected to reopen most state parks and beaches for the Fourth of July holiday and all state government offices on July 5.
At the news conference, Christie was unapologetic about spending time with his family at Island Beach State Park, which had been closed due to the budget deadlock, over the weekend. "Whenever I get done tonight, I'll go back to the beach," he said, addressing the scandal. "That's where my family is and that's where I'll go back to."
He went on defending himself, "Let's be really clear: that's our residence. And we have a right to be there whenever we want to be there." He added, "I don't apologize for it," claiming that he spent "40 minutes" talking with his wife, their children and their children's guests in between trips to Trenton for negotiations.
He also slammed the Star-Ledger which published aerial photos from his beach outing. "If they had flown the plane over that beach, and I was sitting next to a 25-year-old blonde in that beach chair next to me, that's a story," Christie said. "I wasn't sitting next to a 25-year-old blonde. I was sitting next to my wife of 31 years, surrounded by children and some of their best friends. If that's a scandal, I'm guilty of every day of my life."
