Trump Fundraiser ‘Borders on Reckless,’ N.J.’s Murphy Says

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump's fundraiser at his New Jersey golf club “borders on reckless,” Governor Phil Murphy said.

At least 206 people who attended the events in Bedminster potentially were exposed to Trump, who tested positive for the novel coronavirus. State and local health officials are “still in the throes” of contacting the event attendees to warn them of the potential exposure to Covid-19, but “we need more cooperation from the administration,” Murphy said Monday on CNN.

“It's extremely frustrating,” Murphy said later on CBS-TV's “This Morning.” He said “it could be days” for attendees and club staff to test positive for the virus, and said all should self-quarantine.

Local and state health officials have been contact tracing since mid-Friday, working on a list provided by the White House and the golf club. Trump, meanwhile, is hospitalized at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and may be released as soon as today.

Trump should have canceled his trip to New Jersey, Murphy said.

“The trip itself was the wrong decision at every level,” Murphy said on CBS. “People have a right to be upset and angry, particularly folks who have been doing all the right things every step of the way.'

Murphy said he had been in touch over the weekend with his predecessor, Republican Chris Christie, who has been hospitalized since Saturday for coronavirus treatment. He declined to give details on Christie's condition.

“I hope it's a lesson that now we've all learned,” Murphy said of the spread at Trump's golf course. “Bedminster is a chapter in a long book” about the consequences of flouting distancing and masking, he said.

Murphy says he knows of no evidence yet of Covid spread from the Bedminster event. “It could be days. This virus takes a number of days to incubate so the notion of, ‘Hey, I got a test after I heard this and it came back negative so I can go on my merry way' -- that's not how this works.”

New Jersey has a cap of 150 on indoor gatherings. Murphy said any investigation of a violation would be left to the attorney general's office.

“There's a lot of attention right now on the event -- I'll leave it at that.” Murphy said.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.