Governor Phil Murphy said Monday he was a “big boy” and wasn’t rattled by a couple of hecklers who set out on a profane tirade against him when he had dinner with his wife and children outdoors at the Red Bank restaurant on Saturday.
“I’m a big boy with (thick) skin,” Murphy said of the coronavirus at his latest Trenton briefing. “It doesn’t affect me at all, and I think I could say the same for my wife.” Yet I would say this: Our children are not part of this. “
Later, on the question of whether he would also call on left-leaning protesters not to confront the Conservatives at dinner, the Democratic governor said: “I don’t think this is the time we should stand up to the people. And this applies to both sides.
In August, videos of Black Lives Matter protesters against white canteens in Washington DC became viruses. In June, U.S. MP Maxine Waters in California called on her supporters to publicly confront President Donald Trump’s administration officials over the separation of families on the Mexican border.
“It’s not exactly time to go one after another,” Murphy said Monday. “The level of stress is overwhelming. I understand. We all live by ourselves. You have no job, no job, your business is ruined, someone is lost. Who the hell can blame you for being stressed? But let’s not let this divide us even more, let’s try to find a common voice. “
Two unknown women confronted and filmed Murphy and his family as they sat at the outdoor table with a mask taken off during a meal — this is allowed by the state’s coronavirus eating rules. They said they were distracted by a third woman after one of the women recorded a video of the 36-second clash on her phone, and shared on social media.
Murphy said he didn’t know the women and nothing triggered the incident. He refused to say whether his security details were nearby or whether he had responded.
WARNING: This video contains obscene speech several times.
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“Oh, my God, Murphy, you’re so great,” one of the women tells the governor in the clip.
– Are you having fun with your family? another woman asks.
Murphy remained calm during the confrontation and continued to eat with his wife, first lady Tammy Murphy.
Some of the governor’s family members fired back and asked the women if they were drunk.
“No, I’m not drunk,” one woman says.
“Put on your mask,” one of Murphy’s sons asks.
“You can go yourself **,” she replies. – I don’t need the main ** king mask. Do you know why I don’t need a mask? Because there is nothing f ** king with me.
Then one of Murphy’s sons pointed out that the case for the woman’s phone was tied to President Donald Trump.
“I like your Trump phone case,” the boy says. “Guess what Trump likes? She likes my father.
“No, she doesn’t like your father,” one woman replies.
Democrat Murphy has often criticized Trump, the Republican, for the past four years. But these two triggered each other a few times this year as New Jersey was battered by COVID-19. At one point, Trump called Murphy a “fantastic guy”.
Towards the end of the video, it can be seen that Tammy Murphy is shooting women from the table with her own phone. And the governor put a mask on his face.
Apparently, the women were asked to leave the table.
“You know what, you suck, you mom ** – they hear one of the women at the end of the clip.
After the video appeared on the Internet, Murphy said he was “humiliated” by the outpouring of support – from Republican lawmakers, among others – as the case became viral.
“Of course, we won’t always agree on politics,” Murphy said. “But when we meet him, we get together.”
His comments came when New Jersey reported 3,592 additional coronavirus cases and 11 additional deaths on Monday, while hospitalization rose for 24 consecutive days and the state’s seven-day average for new positive tests first rose above 4,000 at the time of the epidemic.
Murphy warned that the epidemic would continue to worsen before it improved, and called on residents to act responsibly instead of imposing comprehensive state restrictions.
“That’s not the point now,” he said. “This is not the time to take each other out.”
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Matt Arco available at [email protected].
Brent Johnson available at [email protected].
