Gov. Phil Murphy on Friday condemned a rambling and falsehood-filled speech during which President Donald Trump wrongly claimed he won re-election and charged with zero evidence mail-in ballot returns that reversed his lead in Pennsylvania and Georgia were fraudulent.
“That was, I think, the worst set of remarks ever delivered by an American president last night. It’s just hard to put it any other way,” Murphy said. “Let’s count the votes, and by the way, he can still win this. If I were in his shoes, I’d let this play out because you just never know.”
During his speech, Trump emitted a series of baseless and sometimes confounding falsehoods as his campaign embarked on largely defeated legal challenges meant to halt or further delay ballot counts in states like Pennsylvania and Georgia, where former Vice President Biden’s lead means the challenger will likely have more than 270 electoral votes.
The incumbent claimed Republicans had flipped the House. They have not.
The speech drew some criticism from Republican officeholders and other prominent members of the party, but Murphy urged others to take action.
“I plead with responsible leaders across the spectrum, but especially in the Republican party, to stand up,” Murphy said, “This is not the first time, by the way, the president has shown this impulse.”
On election night, Trump falsely claimed victory with millions of votes still uncounted. In 2016, he refused to promise to accept election results if he lost, a pledge he again declined to make this year.
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