NEW Jersey Governor Phil Murphy was called a “d**k” by angry diners as he ate with his family after he pleaded with residents to keep Thanksgiving gatherings small.
The Democratic governor was seen dining outside with his wife and their four kids when he was approached by two people.
One heckler who interrupted the governor’s family dinner said: “Oh my God Murphy, you are such a d**k.”
“You’re having fun with your family and in the meantime you’re having all other kind of bulls**t going on.”
It’s unclear when the video was filmed, but it appears to have started circulating online over the weekend.
In the footage, someone who appeared to be dining with Murphy asked the hecklers if they had been drinking.
His family then asked the hecklers, one of whom said they were not drunk, to put their masks on.
“You can go f**k yourself, how about that?” the heckler tells Murphy’s son.
Murphy’s son then compliments the heckler’s Trump-themed phone case, saying President Donald Trump likes his dad.
“No, he doesn’t like your father. Get the f**k out of here,” the hecklers say, as Murphy’s wife appears to be filming them.
While Murphy has criticized Trump, the two seemed to be on good terms this year as New Jersey was hit by Covid – and Trump even once called Murphy a “terrific guy.”
“I don’t need a f**king mask. You know why I don’t need a mask? Because there ain’t nothing f**king wrong with me,” she said.
“You know what, you suck, you motherf**ker,” one of the women can be heard saying at the of the encounter.
By the end of the video, Murphy had put on a mask.
Throughout the encounter, Murphy and his wife remained calm and didn’t respond to the hecklers.
Many politicians in New Jersey defended Murphy, including Republican State Senator Declan O’Scanlon.
“This is totally out of line & out of bounds. Criticizing policy, heated debate -in the public arena – is all ok,” he tweeted.
“But harassment of anyone while w/family, on private time is not acceptable. We’re all sick & tired of this mess. @GovMurphy too, trust me..let’s cut each other some slack.”
Murphy has asked New Jerseyans to keep their Thanksgivings small this year to help minimize the spread of coronavirus that’s spiked across the state.
On Monday, he said on Good Morning America: “There’s a huge amount of personal responsibility here, everybody has to do the right thing.”
“We’ve got a vortex here: cold weather, people letting their hair down with fatigue, and holiday after holiday. We’re pleading with people – please God, do the right thing.”
Two weeks ago, Murphy halted indoor dining between 10pm and 5am, and last week lowered the limit on indoor gatherings from 25 people to 10.
Murphy has indicated towns can issue their own restrictions as long as they are consistent with state guidelines.
As of Monday, more than 311,000 cases of Covid and nearly 17,000 virus-related deaths were reported in the Garden State.
New Jersey’s health commissioner said on Friday the state is expecting shipments of Pfizer and Moderna Covid vaccines as soon as next month.
The earliest shipments are expected to go to health care professionals and first responders, with the vaccine likely becoming available to the public in April or May, Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said.
New Jersey is aiming to vaccinate about 4.7million adults, or about 70 percent of the state’s population, within six months of availability, according to the commissioner.
