With Trump nearly gone, Murphy welcomes a new administration

Gov. Phil Murphy welcomed the coming of a new presidential administration Tuesday, just one day before President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

“Tomorrow begins a new day in our nation’s history,” Murphy said. “I’m excited about the new opportunities of true federal cooperation that exist on the critical challenges that we face, from a real focus on fighting and defeating the pandemic to investing meaningfully in our impacted families to building a stronger economic future.”

The governor and First Lady Tammy Murphy will attend the inauguration in-person. Lt. Gov. Sheila Oliver will act as New Jersey’s chief executive while Murphy is in Washington.

Unlike Democrats in some other states, Murphy for months adopted a softer approach to President Donald Trump, shying away from criticism that could have inflamed his ire.

He urged New Jerseyans of all stripes to come together under the new administration following four years under Trump that culminated in the president’s supporters, at his provocation, storming the U.S. Capitol.

“We must all aspire to a truer sense of patriotism. Whether you voted for him tomorrow or not, he become our president. Note the word ‘our,’” Murphy said. “This is how our democracy works. This is the example we have set and must reset for all across our nation and around the world.

Murphy, a former U.S. ambassador to Germany and a former Democratic National Committee finance chair, has known Biden for years, and he had nothing but praise for the president-elect Tuesday.

“I’m reminded of a speech before the American Legion in the midst of McCarthyism that the late statesman Adeline Stevenson, a two-time presidential nominee called upon us to embrace, and I will quote Adeline ‘a patriotism that puts country ahead of self. A patriotism which is not short, frenzied outbursts of emotion but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime,’ he said. “That says it all. In that sense, President-elect Biden is a patriot of the highest level.”