What is Chris Christie Beach Picture?

It refers to aerial photographs from July 2, 2017, that showed New Jersey Governor Chris Christie reclining on Island Beach State Park with his family while the beach was closed to the public under a shutdown order he had signed.

Where did Chris Christie Beach Picture come from?

NJ Advance Media chartered a plane to photograph Christie at Island Beach State Park two days into the state government shutdown, and the Star-Ledger published the shots that afternoon. Kevin Whitmer, the publisher's Vice President of Content, tweeted them that evening.

What does Chris Christie Beach Picture mean?

It became a political symbol of hypocrisy, since Christie had ordered the beach closed to everyone else over the state budget impasse. His denial that he got any sun, and his spokesman's claim about a baseball hat, fueled the backlash.

How do you use Chris Christie Beach Picture?

Edits typically isolate Christie's reclining figure from the aerial photo and insert it into unrelated backgrounds, including moments from The Sopranos and other political scandals.

Is Chris Christie Beach Picture still popular?

The image spread through summer 2017 as a political punchline and resurfaces in shutdown and hypocrisy coverage, though the main Photoshop activity faded after that July.

Chris Christie Beach Picture

2017viral photoclassic

Published October 16, 2026

On July 2, 2017, aerial photos surfaced of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie lounging on Island Beach State Park with his family during a state government shutdown he had ordered two days earlier, closing that same beach to the public. The image spread across Twitter within hours as the Chris Christie Beach Picture, inspiring Photoshops that dropped him into scenes from The Sopranos and other political controversies.

political satire memes viral photo memes photoshop memes hypocrisy memes 2017 memes

Overview

Chris Christie Beach Picture edits typically isolated the governor's figure from the aerial photo and dropped it into unrelated backgrounds. Common targets included moments from The Sopranos and footage of politicians caught in other scandals, playing off the governor's unapologetic posture6.

Christie's own response added fuel. At a press conference the same afternoon, he told reporters, 'I didn't get any sun,' and his spokesman later explained he had been wearing a baseball hat1. That hat line was repeated across Twitter as its own joke, often attached to the aerial photo to mock the denial5.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

News photography (Star-Ledger) / Twitter (viral spread)

Date

2017

The budget standoff set the stage. On June 30, 2017, Christie signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency after the New Jersey Legislature failed to pass a budget by the constitutional deadline, triggering a shutdown of state parks, motor vehicle offices, and other nonessential services2. Island Beach State Park, where Christie's family had a vacation residence, closed along with every other state beach for the July 4th holiday weekend1.

Two days into the shutdown, on July 2, NJ Advance Media chartered a plane and photographed Christie reclining on the sand at Island Beach with his wife and children. The Star-Ledger published the aerial shots that afternoon as the Chris Christie Beach Picture went into wide circulation3.

How It Spread

That evening, NJ Advance Media's Vice President of Content Kevin Whitmer tweeted the photographs with the caption, 'We flew a plane over the Shore today and look who we found!' The tweet drew more than 950 retweets and 1,700 likes7. Within hours, Twitter user @Bro_Pair shared the beach image with the line, 'The image of a grotesque Chris Christie sunning himself on an empty state beach he closed is an evocative metaphor for our era of politics.' That post reached more than 3,600 retweets and 7,500 likes inside a day6.

Twitter users then started editing Christie's pose into unrelated backgrounds, including the George Washington Bridge connected to his earlier Bridgegate scandal and Oval Office scenes6. CNN mocked the 'hat defense' in its coverage1, and The New York Times ran a story the next morning4. The Atlantic also covered the controversy as the Chris Christie Beach Picture settled in as shorthand for political hypocrisy5.

Timeline

2017-06-30

Christie signs an executive order declaring a state of emergency and shutting down nonessential NJ state services, including all state parks and beaches.

2017-07-02

The Star-Ledger publishes aerial photos of Christie and family at closed Island Beach State Park; Kevin Whitmer tweets them that evening and @Bro_Pair's caption post reaches 3,600+ retweets within a day.

2017-07-02

At a press conference that same day, Christie denies getting any sun; his spokesman adds he had been wearing a baseball hat.

2017-07-03

CNN, The New York Times, and The Atlantic publish coverage, and Twitter users start Photoshopping Christie's pose into The Sopranos scenes and other political backgrounds.

How to Use This Meme

Users typically crop Christie's lounging silhouette from the Star-Ledger aerial photograph and composite it into incongruous backgrounds, often places tied to his own political past like the George Washington Bridge from the Bridgegate scandal, or settings that highlight political hypocrisy6.