Want another demonstration of Democrat virtue-signaling? At least the DNC had the courage to live by their principles, as insane and condescending as they may be. New Jersey governor Phil Murphy took the more pusillanimous route when it became apparent that he'd opened his mouth once too often.

Let's go back to Saturday, where Murphy spoke at Montclair State University. After bragging about all the wonderful ways in which his administration protected and promoted transgenders, Murphy turned the topic -- unprompted -- to illegal aliens and the Trump administration's efforts to deport them. Murphy claimed to be harboring an illegal alien in his garage, and dared the feds to come get her. Even Forbes called it a "shock moment"; go to  1:42 in the video below for the excerpt, but watch it all up to that point for the bizarre context shift it created:

MURPHY: This isn't a trans case, but Tammy and I were talking about -- I don't want to get into too much detail -- but there's someone in our broader universe whose immigration status is not yet at the point where they are trying to get it to. And we said, you know what? Let's have her live at our house above our garage. And good luck to the feds trying to come in and get her. 

Watch the whole clip in context to see how gratuitous this claim was. The subject of illegal immigration was never even mentioned by Murphy's Montclair interlocutor. Murphy was so eager to send out the virtue signals on his administration's sanctuary policies and his own personal white-knighting against L'Homme Orange Mal that he dropped that non-sequitur into the middle of the discussion. Murphy couldn't wait to throw down that gauntlet.

Until Tom Homan picked it up, that is. When Sean Hannity played the clip for the head of ICE. Homan promised to open an investigation into Murphy's personal sanctuary (via Twitchy):

JUST IN: Border Czar Tom Homan says he plans on going after NJ Governor Phil Murphy who taunted the Trump admin when he revealed that he was housing an illegal immigrant.

Murphy: We are housing an illegal above our garage. Good luck to the Feds who will try to get her.

Homan:… pic.twitter.com/a9JmGp5Nmo

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 4, 2025

Homan: "I got a note of it. I won't let it go. We'll look into it. If he's knowingly harboring and concealing an illegal alien... we will seek prosecution."

And just like that, poof! The illegal alien disappeared from Murphy's garage. In fact, the governor claimed that his remarks had been "misinterpreted" and that he never claimed to be harboring anyone:

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s office furiously tried to backpedal Monday after he boasted that he had opened his home to a migrant and taunted the Trump administration “to try to get her.’’

A rep told The Post that the loose-lipped Jersey leader had been “misinterpreted” and that no such situation had occurred — even though Murphy had dared the feds to come after the migrant. ...

Murphy was just referring to a legal resident who is in his circle of friends and was worried about President Trump’s return to the White House, the governor’s rep said.

Oh, nonsense. If the friend was a legal resident, then there wouldn't have been any need to shelter her. And it would also have made Homan's declaration entirely pointless too, which was to show how brave he was for sticking up for someone who would otherwise be deported. If the friend wasn't at risk for deportation, then what was Murphy bragging about? Providing a crash couch?

If there was a friend at all, that is:

“No one’s ever lived in the home” under those circumstances that the governor described, the representative insisted.

The rep did not explain why Murphy, who lives with his family in a mansion in Middletown, NJ, would dare the Trump administration to go after the woman at his home if she wasn’t there.

Here's the explanation: Murphy lied. He either lied at Montclair or he lied after Homan promised to investigate him for committing a federal crime. I'd bet on the former, actually; I truly doubt that a sitting governor would be dumb enough to knowingly shelter an illegal alien, even in New Jersey, no matter how liberal his state may be. (Based on the election results last November, not as liberal as Murphy thinks.) This exposes Murphy as a cowardly blowhard -- the kind of person who picks a fight because he thinks he's a tough guy, then runs as soon as someone takes him up on it. 

However, Homan should proceed on the assumption that it's the latter -- that Murphy is lying now. He made a public admission to knowingly obstructing federal immigration enforcement by sheltering an illegal alien. That alone provides enough reasonable suspicion to open an investigation into Murphy. Sanctuary policies should carry real and significant consequences, so that this kind of bragging carries real weight ... rather than just cheap talk from a cheap suit who folds this easily. 

Also, the latest episode of The Ed Morrissey Show podcast is now up! Today's show features:

•  What is the one quality that has been restored to American public life? Leadership, Andrew Malcolm and I agree. 
• Plus, we both note that this is the most energetic fortnight in decades, perhaps in 92 years. Not that we were there, of course! 
• For Democrats wondering what went wrong, perhaps that's the place to start. 

The Ed Morrissey Show is now a fully downloadable and streamable show at  Spotify, Apple Podcasts, the TEMS Podcast YouTube channel, and on Rumble and our own in-house portal at the #TEMS page!