Gov. Murphy: Trump Should Be Removed From Office

TRENTON, NJ — Gov. Phil Murphy said President Donald Trump needs to be removed from office, whether by impeachment and conviction by Congress or by the use of the 25th Amendment.

Murphy made the statement in response to a reporter's question Monday during his coronavirus briefing.

"I've run out of things to say about President Trump," Murphy said. "When you're inciting insurrection and you're the president of the United States, it's a bridge too far."

Ten members of Congress representing New Jersey have called for Trump's removal, saying "he's a threat to democracy" after inciting the Capitol Hill riots on Wednesday.

The articles of impeachment were drafted by Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., after a pro-Trump mob stormed their way into the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to halt the Electoral College certification of Joe Biden as the next president of the United States.

"Donald Trump has shown he is a direct threat to the safety and security of Americans and the integrity of our democracy," Democratic Sen. Cory Booker said. Read more: Sen. Cory Booker Says Impeach Trump, Or Invoke 25th Amendment

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi agreed the 25th Amendment should be invoked to remove Trump from office, and if not, then "Congress may be prepared to move forward with impeachment."

"I have been asked 'If you were in the House, would you vote to impeach him,' " Murphy said Monday. "Yes I would. If I were in the Senate I'd vote to convict him, and if I were in the cabinet I'd join in the 25th Amendment effort, even with only, what is it, I guess 9 days to go."

He also supported the move by Twitter to ban Trump from its platform, a ban that has been criticized by many, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has called the ban "problematic," according to several news reports.

"I'm normally a big freedom of speech guy," Murphy said, but said the incitement of the riot was sufficient reason for the ban.

Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, who co-sponsored Omar's resolution to impeach Trump, called him a "danger to democracy."

"Donald Trump is a clear and immediate danger to our democracy. Impeach him!" she wrote in a tweet.

The Capitol was stormed after Trump told a crowd of protesters at a rally that he would never concede.

In a televised broadcast around the same time, President-Elect Biden said the chaos unfolding on Capitol Hill was "disorder, not dissent," and urged Trump to "step up."

With reporting by Sarah Salvadore

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