TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy issued a statement Tuesday night expressing disappointment in President Donald Trump’s Joint Address to Congress, calling for a greater focus on economic relief for American families.
While Trump’s speech focused on his core principals of making America safe, securing borders, removing criminal illegal aliens, protecting womens’ rights, establishing fair global trade rules, and celebrating a 13-year-old brain cancer survivor, Phil Murphy, like most in his party, was not interested in all of that.
Nearly 70% of Americans disagreed with Murphy’s assessment.
Murphy said many Americans tuned in “with the hope that he would offer an optimistic and unifying vision for renewing the American Dream” but added that he was left “disappointed.”
“At a time when families across the nation are living paycheck-to-paycheck, our leaders must be laser-focused on lowering costs, raising wages, and building a brighter future for the next generation,” Murphy said. “Instead, this Administration has spent its first weeks in office driving up costs for consumers, destabilizing our economy, and diminishing our nation’s standing on the world stage.”
Despite his criticism, Murphy said he remains open to working with the Trump administration. “As always, I remain fully committed to finding common ground,” he said, while warning that the administration “cannot afford for the next four years to be like the past six weeks.”
