NJ GOP video hits Murphy on Sky Blue’s PPP loan

New Jersey’s Republican State Committee launched a video attacking Gov. Phil Murphy over a federal pandemic program loan received by Sky Blue FC, the New Jersey soccer team he co-owns Monday.

The 33-second spot hits Murphy over the roughly $147,000 loan the soccer team received under the Paycheck Protection Program, a federal initiative meant to subsidize salary payments amid virus-fueled shutdowns before pivoting into an assault over those lockdowns, which Murphy ordered.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has put Phil Murphy’s inept leadership on full display,” NJGOP Executive Director Phil Valenziano said. “This is just the latest example of Murphy’s failed response to confronting the pandemic, and it renews warranted scrutiny of just how conceited and hypocritical he is.”

The soccer team isn’t profitable. Murphy’s tax returns show the team has cost him roughly $7 million since he and his wife became co-owners in 2008, including about $1.1 million in 2019.

The team has also come with some political headaches. In 2018, Murphy faced fire after reports that the team’s players were living in housing that used plastic bags as windows and lacked showers.

So far, the video’s reach is limited. The New Jersey GOP has posted it to its social media pages and is pushing it out via email — an effort aided by county Republican organizations and other GOP groups — but it remains off paid platforms amid freezes on political ads on social media platforms.

But the Republican State Committee expects to push the ad with buys once Facebook and other platforms give political advertising the green light.

The move is an early offensive made in a bid to hamper Murphy’s chances at re-election. Four Republicans, former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, former Somerset County Freeholder Brian Levine, businessman Joseph Rudy Rullo and perennial candidate Hirsh Singh are vying for the chance to take on the incumbent.

Script: Greedy. Corrupt. Out for Himself. 

That’s Phil Murphy. 

While one-third of New Jersey small businesses have been forced closed, thanks to Governor Murphy’s strict lockdowns, Murphy privately secured almost $150,000 from the federal government for a professional soccer team he owns –despite being one of the wealthiest elected officials in the country. 

When the chips are down, you can’t count on Governor Murphy to look out for you – only himself.

New Jersey deserves better.