Murphy urges unity after family accosted at restaurant

Gov. Phil Murphy urged unity after he, First Lady Tammy Murphy and their children were accosted while having dinner at a restaurant in Red Bank Saturday night.

“This is exactly not the time to be going after each other. The stress levels are overwhelming. I get it. We all live it ourselves. You’re out of a job. You’re out of work. Your business is bust,” Murphy said. “You’ve lost somebody. Who the heck could blame you for being stressed, but let’s not allow that to turn into dividing us even further.”

In a video posted to social media, a woman can be heard shouting profanities at the Murphy family, at one point telling one of the governor’s sons to “go fuck himself” after he suggested she put on a mask.

Murphy put on a mask during the woman’s tirade.

“They were yelling at me, and I remember you banned yelling and singing,” Murphy said to Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli. “So I immediately put my mask on so that they weren’t coming down at me.

The governor, whose family was unmasked while eating at their outdoor table, said some of the state’s Republicans, including Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield), who is mulling a challenge to Murphy next year, had reached out to express support.

“This is not the time to be taking it out on each other,” Murphy said. “Again, I’m a big guy. I’m not worried about me, and I think I can speak for my wife, but the collective reality right now, this is a nation that’s been ravaged, torn in two.”