Speaking to Fox News’s Bret Baier on Sunday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said the Trump administration deserves credit over COVID-19 vaccine developments.
“I do, period,” he told Baier. “I was on privately with Vice President Pence just before Thanksgiving and said so. We're on calls regularly with the White House. We've got one tomorrow. In addition to Secretary Azar, you've got the likes of Tony Fauci, General Gus Perna, New Jersey's own, whose overseeing the distribution. Stephen Hahn, others. I also give the private sector players a lot of credit and I give decades of investment in public health a lot of credit.”
The governor added that while the vaccines are promising, “we're not in the end zone yet.”
This is not the first time Murphy, a Democrat, has praised the Trump administration over its efforts in combatting the Wuhan coronavirus.
In May, he said the Trump administration was “extremely responsive” to all of New Jersey’s needs.
“I have to thank the president and his team,” the governor said at the time.
“The president knows New Jersey,” he added. “He and his team have been extremely responsive in our hour of need, whether it was ventilators, as you rightfully point out, we’ve got a huge amount of supplies to test. We’re getting personal protective equipment just the other day, confirmed direct to our nursing homes. We just announced $1.7 billion into our hospital systems.”
“They have been there for us,” Murphy continued. “And I appreciate that enormously.”
In his “Fox News Sunday” interview with Baier, the governor said that while he did not want to order another lockdown in the state, nothing is off the table.
"You know, you have not ruled out a statewide shutdown like you did in the spring," Baier said. "Why is that? I mean you hear the WHO saying it's the last possible resort considering the economic impact of that. You heard Dr. Anthony Fauci say something similar. But yet you're saying it's possible in your state?"
"I'm not sure I'd say possible, Bret, but it has to stay on the table," he responded. “I don't anticipate it and I sure as heck don't want to go that route. But, boy, federal stimulus would give us a lot more ammunition to do a lot more things right now.”
The interview came one day after dozens gathered near Murphy’s home to protest COVID-19 restrictions in the state, which has seen more than 16,000 deaths from the virus since March.
At least 12 cop cars, including k9, just on this side of the road pic.twitter.com/gK13IOoVOF
— Ben OSullivan (@MargerineMagpie) November 28, 2020
Murphy and his family were also recently confronted at a restaurant just days after he extended his March 9 public health emergency executive order.
A woman came up and said, "Oh my God, Murphy, you are such a d***.”
"You’re having fun with your family, in the meantime, you’re having all kind of other bulls*** going on…," another woman says.
On Saturday, The Garden State reported another 3,924 new coronavirus cases and 24 deaths.