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Chris Christie's day at the beach: Social media reacts

Some were calling the trip to the closed state park "Beachgate."

Gov. Christie, his family and friends are all alone at Island Beach State Park, which is closed to the public due to the state government shutdown.
Gov. Christie, his family and friends are all alone at Island Beach State Park, which is closed to the public due to the state government shutdown.Read moreAndrew Mills | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Amid New Jersey's government shutdown that has closed state-operated beaches, parks and other recreation areas, Gov. Christie and his family took a trip to the inaccessible-to-the-public Island Beach State Park over the weekend.

The governor has remained defiant about his beach day, saying he had planned to spend the July 4 holiday with his family at the official residence there. While tourists were turned away from the popular park, photos taken by by NJ Advance Media and published by NJ.com and the Star-Ledger showed Christie relaxing in the sand.

The beach trip hasn't gone over well with the masses. Memes galore were being generated Monday, as #ChrisChristie was trending locally on Twitter.

Some users were describing the ill-timed vacation as "Beachgate" or referencing the "Bridgegate" plot that led to jail sentences for two former Christie aides in connection with the politically motivated lane closures on the George Washington Bridge.

Newspaper front pages also took aim at Christie's beach-going:

Christie, meanwhile, used his own Twitter account to tout the state's locally controlled beaches, which are not affected by the government shutdown, making no mention of his own afternoon at the Shore.