Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey was met with a chorus of boos after he took the stage at a concert near his private mansion over the weekend.
Murphy visited the Red Rock Tap + Grill in the community of Red Bank near the Jersey Shore on Saturday, according to Matt Rooney of the website Save Jersey.
Rooney shared a video of a band called Brian Kirk & the Jirks playing a set.
Lead singer Brian Kirk insisted Murphy join him on stage, but patrons at Red Rock were not pleased with the governor’s presence.
As Murphy embraced members of the band, Kirk and the Jirks lost the audience.
The booing was so thick that the singer scolded the crowd.
“Hey, hey, hey!” he said to no avail.
Watch @GovMurphy booed mercilessly by the crowd at Red Rock in Red Bank… pic.twitter.com/gDavJ8ytLz
— Matt Rooney (@MattRooneyNJ) July 8, 2023
As the booing continued, Kirk yelled into his microphone, “Hey, hey. What did I tell you guys?”
The singer pointed his finger at the crowd and castigated them for booing Murphy.
“Hey, listen to me,” he said. “Listen to me. He didn’t want to hear that. He’s a buddy of mine.”
As the booing continued Kirk said, “This is not about politics. He’s a friend of mine. Do not do that. Please, out of respect for my friend, don’t do that.”
Murphy appeared unfazed by the icy reception.
The governor was narrowly re-elected in November 2021 in deep blue New Jersey by only 84,000 votes.
Republican candidate Jack Ciattarelli lost to the pro-lockdown Democrat by just over three points — 48 percent to Murphy’s 51.2 percent.
Murphy made headlines during the COVID-19 pandemic for closing schools, beaches, restaurants and churches.
In one moment that came to define his and other Democrats’ views on civil liberties during the pandemic, Murphy dismissed the Constitution in early 2020 during an interview with then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson after he was pressed about his lockdown order.
“By what authority did you nullify the Bill of Rights in issuing this order?” Carlson asked.
Murphy replied, “That’s above my pay grade, Tucker… I wasn’t thinking of the Bill of Rights when we did this.”
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.