Gov. Phil Murphy pledges to resist Trump administration if core values are threatened

In the wake of President-elect Donald Trump's victory, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy issued a firm warning, pledging to "fight to the death" against any actions by the incoming administration that he believes contradict the values of his state.

"[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, News.Az reports, citing Fox News.

"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," he said.

"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.

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.

News.Az