Murphy shrugs off Norcross’s ‘King of England’ attack

Gov. Phil Murphy on Thursday shrugged off a jab Democratic power broker George Norcross made at him and First Lady Tammy Murphy.

“It’s very hard for an Irishman to be referred to as the King of England. I’m still coming to grips with that,” Murphy said. “But, all seriousness, we were together with the first lady yesterday at Newark’s University Hospital. Nobody works harder for this state, particularly in the signature issues that she has helped spearhead, with a lot of help by the way from legislators and members of our cabinet.”

Norcross and Murphy are embroiled in a feud over an independent task force Murphy convened to investigated the abuses of the Economic Development Authority’s tax incentive programs.

During the task force’s second hearing last week, applications for EDA awards filed by four firms with links to Norcross — including Cooper University Hospital, whose board Norcross chairs — were revealed to have some discrepancies.

In the time since, Norcross has broken character and made a series of public statements blasting Murphy and his investigation.

On Wednesday, he went further and took a shot at Tammy Murphy.

“Well, I’m telling you: He thinks he’s the King of England and Mrs. thinks she’s the Queen of England, and they don’t have to answer to anybody,” Norcross told NJ Advanced Media Wednesday. “And they’ve gone out there recklessly, stupidly and incompetently time and time again.”

The Murphy’s are known to be something of a political team.

Though she holds no elected office and does not collect a government salary, Tammy Murphy is one of the governor’s closest advisers.

Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, who appeared alongside the governor at a press conference preceding the signing of a series of bills combating food insecurity — one of Coughlin’s signature issues — declined to say whether Norcross’s attack on the first lady was inappropriate.

“I’m not going to comment on that,” Coughlin said. “I’m really excited about why we’re here today, and I don’t want anything to take away from the focus of what I think is a really special day, and something that has, candidly, been the centerpiece of the promise that I made when I became the speaker.”