Murphy to Trump voters: 'I hope you're happy' with SCOTUS rulings on guns, abortion

TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on Friday called out voters who cast their ballots for Donald Trump in 2016, declaring that elections have consequences, and we are “living with the carnage of those consequences.”

At the end of a press conference in Trenton to address the U.S. Supreme Court's rulings that eased gun laws and overturned Roe v. Wade, Murphy took direct aim at supporters of the former president.

“I do want to speak to the folks who, in 2016, voted for president because they wanted to shake things up, and I want to ask you: Are you happy? Because you’re shaking things up,” said Murphy, a progressive Democrat who is considered a possible 2024 candidate if President Joe Biden doesn't seek a second term.

Many Republicans who supported Trump for president in 2016 did so with expanded gun rights and restricted abortion access in mind. Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices during his term, creating a conservative super majority openly hostile to Roe.

“A woman is now no longer protected. … Her rights are no longer respected,” Murphy said, adding that Friday's 5-4 ruling that revoked the constitutional right to an abortion that has been in place for half a century meant “both quality and level of health will inevitably go down,” particularly for Black and brown individuals.

Murphy also had harsh words for Trump supporters on the issue of gun rights.

“I hope you’re happy that police are now more at risk," he said. "Their lives, their personal security … I hope you’re happy that you’ve shaken things up.”

The high court voted, 6-3, on Thursday in favor of gun owners who want to carry their weapons outside the home, striking down New York state’s rules giving local officials broad authority to deny such permits for almost any reason.

Murphy also made a point of disagreeing — respectfully — with religious leaders opposed to abortion, including those in his own Catholic church.

“I don't agree with them, but I respect their opinion,” he said. “But again, I don’t agree.”

In addition to addressing Trump voters, Murphy placed some blame on apathetic citizens.

“To, probably, a similar group of folks who don’t think elections have consequences: Do you really still think that now? You really believe that now?”

Specifically, Murphy pointed toward the upcoming election in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District, saying that while both candidates, Democratic incumbent Rep. Tom Malinowski and his Republican challenger Tom Kean Jr. are “good guys,” the election will have a direct impact on New Jerseyans.

“I know them both well, but one of them explicitly and actively voted against women’s reproductive freedom in January,” he said, referring to Kean, a former member of the state Senate. “Elections have consequences. And sadly, we are living with the carnage of those consequences the past two days.”

Murphy concluded with a call to action.

“Get off your rear end. Get your hands out from under you," he said. "Stand up, get out, scream from [the] highest mountains — do it peacefully — and vote.”