Christie: Beachgate blowback upset his children

Gov. Christie says the outcry over his decision to take his family to a beach closed during the state government shutdown, which launched a thousand Christie-in-a-beach-chair memes on the internet, upset his children "more than anything else" in his 7½ years in office.

The two-term Republican governor made the comments Thursday night during his regular radio call-in show on New Jersey 101.5 FM.

Christie took his family and a group of his children's friends to the governor's beach house at Island Beach State Park over the Fourth of July weekend, even though the park had been closed as part of the government shutdown that resulted from the Legislature's failure to adopt a budget by July 1.

NJ.com sent a plane and photographer to the Shore and caught the governor and his family on the beach. Photos of Christie lounging in a beach chair sparked an outcry and inspired memes in which the governor was inserted into images of everything from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade to Georges Seurat's painting Sunday Afternoon on the Island of la Grande Jatte.

According to NJ.com, Christie said he has avoided looking at the memes and has not talked to his children about them.

Christie has said the trip had been planned for months. On the radio Thursday, he said his children blamed themselves for the blowback, but he told them the beach trip was his decision, not theirs.

The governor has two sons and two daughters, who range in age from 14 to 24.

Christie said his children were hurt by the backlash, saying, "They don't understand people's unfairness and, quite frankly, their ignorance."

The shutdown was resolved early July 4.

You can view the entire interview (1 hour, 39 minutes) here.

This article contains information from the Associated Press.