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In a Q&A following President-elect Donald Trump’s victory, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy warned he will "fight to the death" against the administration if he detects behavior "contrary to our values."
"[A]s we respect the peaceful transition of power, if there is any attack on the Garden State or any of its communities from Washington, I will fight back with every fiber of my being," Murphy said.
"If there’s an opportunity for common ground, we will seize that as fast as anybody," he conversely added.
State Assembly Minority Leader John DiMaio, R-Hackettstown, told Fox News Digital that Murphy is "missing the message" voters sent Tuesday with the initial rhetoric.
"It’s time for the governor to recognize that his values may not reflect the values of New Jerseyans as widely as he assumes."
"While Murphy is prepared to spend resources on political battles with Trump, it’s hard to see how that aligns with the priorities of struggling families, working taxpayers and business owners who want more focus on their needs," DiMaio said.
Murphy, who will begin his final year in Trenton after Trump is inaugurated, credited Trump with his "uncanny ability to connect with people, even if it’s not in their own interests," after the Republican came proverbially close to taking the blue bastion.
While Murphy rejected a reporter’s query about New Jersey being in play in the future, he commented that Trump only lost it by 4%, compared to 16% in 2020.
"I do not believe we are a swing state," he said, adding that outside of Rep. Tom Kean Jr.’s victory along the Route 22 corridor, he was happy with the down-ballot results. Kean is a Republican.
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He pointed to Republicans’ success in messaging on the immigration crisis, adding the caveat that their winning rhetoric may not have matched the facts on the ground.
Trump won Passaic County, an ethnically diverse New York City suburb, but down-ballot races skewed Democrat. Murphy pointed to that as an example of voters selecting Trump personally rather than Republicans writ large.
He suggested the same was true in North Carolina, noting Trump won the state but Democrat Attorney General Joshua Stein was elected governor.
"Just as it is our responsibility to continue to stand up against any threat to our state or to our people, it is also our responsibility to take any opportunity that presents itself to work with [Trump] to protect and uplift the people of our state because that is what responsible leaders do," Murphy added.
He also credited Trump with quickly approving the new Portal North Railroad Bridge in Secaucus and assisting during the coronavirus pandemic.
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As for responding to Trump’s governance, Murphy said that during the last administration, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was reportedly conducting raids in search of illegal immigrants, he took an inventive tack.
"There was a time when ICE was just randomly showing up on street corners and apprehending … brothers and sisters from the immigrant community," Murphy said.
The governor, who lives in Middletown Township near Sandy Hook, said he heard an "area near where I live was at-risk."
"I just went there one night with my [security] detail and just hung out there," he said, noting ICE then didn’t show.
"Whether that scared them off or not I don’t know, but it’s an example of a small step that we’re willing to try anything if its contrary to our values."
As the 2025 gubernatorial race to replace him is about to heat up, Murphy said his three-point win in 2021 may have been "the canary in the coalmine" for Democrats in the state to assess the political landscape.
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