Gov. Phil Murphy crossed the Delaware River on Tuesday night in support of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz before the vice presidential debate.
In the Pennsylvania town of Newtown, Murphy spoke to a watch party in the leadup to the debate, praising Walz and rebuking Sen. JD Vance (R-OH). About two dozen attendees gathered to watch in a Newtown office building, though the governor left for Jersey before the debate started because of prior plans to watch the event elsewhere.
Murphy, who once invited Walz and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to a Bruce Springsteen concert, said Vice President Kamala Harris chose a strong running mate in Walz because he expanded her base. Murphy said Walz’s governorship and Midwestern roots rounded out the Democratic ticket strongly, while he described Vance as a “Mini Me” for former President Donald Trump.
“[Trump] could have chosen to extend his base or his reach, and he chose not to,” Murphy told the group. “On the other hand, Kamala Harris did not only the courageous thing, but the right thing, and she extended her base.”
Murphy said he’s close with both Walz and Shapiro and thinks either would have made for effective vice presidential candidates. On the GOP side, the governor pointed to media reports that North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum was under consideration for the vice presidential slot.
Murphy said he knows Burgum well and that he would have made for a stronger pick. The New Jersey governor thinks the miscalculation came because Trump was “supremely confident that he was going to win” when he picked Vance.
“Doug would have extended the president’s reach,” Murphy said. “Software entrepreneur, governor, reasonable and smart views on the economy, has a perspective on energy, oil and gas, Native Americans, that I think would have been very valuable, And Trump chose to take somebody who was within his lane.”
The governor’s surrogacy for Harris will continue until Election Day. The governor and First Lady Tammy Murphy will host Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Jon Bon Jovi for a fundraiser on Saturday, and Murphy will also be participating in the launch of Harris campaign buses in Montclair that same day.
“New Jersey right now is exporting dollars,” Murphy said. “It’s exporting boots on the ground. It’s exporting surrogates. And so I’m looking forward to participating in all of that.”
Despite being in Phillies country, Murphy didn’t completely pander. In an interview with the New Jersey Globe, the governor said Pete Rose, the controversial baseball icon who played five seasons for the Phillies and died Wednesday, should not be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Murphy pointed to Keith O’Brien’s book Charlie Hustle, which documented Rose’s rise and fall in baseball. The all-time leader in hits was banned from the sport in 1989 after admitting to betting on baseball.
“I think they oughta try to figure out a way, maybe, to have some acknowledgement of him, given the records and his presence over decades, but he bet on baseball,” Murphy said.