Though he didn’t give remarks at the fundraiser for Vice President Kamala Harris, Jon Bon Jovi’s message for the presidential hopeful was clear Saturday: “I’ll Be There For You.”
Bon Jovi headlined the Saturday evening fundraiser alongside Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff. Gov. Phil Murphy and First Lady Tammy Murphy hosted the event at their Middletown home — the governor said nearly $1.3 million had been raised for Harris’s presidential campaign at the time of his remarks.
Emhoff and Bon Jovi both grew up in New Jersey — Emhoff’s Matawan and Bon Jovi’s Sayreville are just minutes apart.
Emhoff, in fact, mentioned a recent Asbury Park Press article that discussed whether the second gentleman is from Matawan or the nearby Old Bridge. Emhoff attended Hebrew school at Temple Shalom in Matawan and Cedar Ridge High School in Old Bridge.
“You know how in New Jersey you have one town on your mailing address, but you actually live in another town?” Emhoff said. “I grew up in Old Bridge, but our address was Matawan. My dad went to the train station in Matawan, and we went to the Stewart’s Root Beer in Matawan, and went to our diner in Matawan, but I went to high school in Old Bridge and played sports at Old Bridge. So you guys figure it out.”
The second gentleman, who may soon be the first-ever first gentleman, split his remarks between praising his wife’s time in government and condemning the “half-assed authoritarianism” of former President Donald Trump.
Emhoff repeatedly attacked Trump as a leader unable to create an environment hospitable to businesses.
“Chaos: Bad for business. Degrading the rule of law: Bad for business. Uncertain court and arbitration systems: Very bad for business. Tariffs: Bad for business,” the second gentleman said.
And the former attorney said Trump is “degrading before our very eyes,” and will be more radical should he reassume the Oval Office.
“This time around, there won’t be Steve Mnuchin, Gary Cohn, and so-called normies that you all know,” Emhoff told the crowd of donors. “They’re not going to be there this time. Look at the people around him now, and then look at him.”
About 50 people watched remarks from Emhoff and the Murphys. Tickets to the event ranged from $10,000 to $100,000 per person. Attendees included interim Senator George Helmy and former Treasury Secretary Mike Blumenthal.
The Murphy-hosted fundraiser was one of a pair of Garden State events the second gentleman attended Saturday. Mandy and James Cooper and Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff) hosted an earlier fundraiser in Old Tappan. Emhoff’s sister Jamie introduced him at that fundraiser, where tickets cost between $1,000 and $25,000.
The Murphy home is a regular haven for Democratic fundraisers. This summer, President Joe Biden held a fundraiser at the governor’s home just days after the presidential debate that ultimately forced him to end his reelection campaign — that event raised $3.7 million. In October 2022, another Biden event helped raise $1 million for Democratic committees before the midterm elections that year.