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NJ Gov. Murphy met with Trump to wish him well after assassination attempt

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) met in-person with former President Trump on Saturday to wish him well in the aftermath of an assassination attempt that left Trump with an injured ear.

The governor’s office confirmed to The Hill that Murphy and his wife reached out to Trump immediately after the shooting earlier this month at a rally in Butler, Pa., and the two met with the former president and GOP nominee at his Bedminster, N.J., property.

“While the former President was recuperating at his residence in New Jersey, they had an opportunity to wish him well in person this past Saturday,” Mahen Gunaratna, the governor’s communications director, said in a statement.  The Governor is an American first and believes an issue as serious as the safety of current and former presidents transcends partisan politics.”

The Washington Post first reported on the meeting between Trump and Murphy.

Several Democrats reached out to Trump after the assassination attempt against him earlier this month, including President Biden. But Murphy is the rare case of a Democrat who has met with Trump in person.

Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas), a former White House physician, shared an update on Trump’s health in a Saturday memo as information had been sparse in the week since the shooting.

He wrote that the bullet “produced a 2 cm wide wound that extended down to the cartilaginous surface of the ear. There was initially significant bleeding, followed by marked swelling of the entire upper ear. The swelling has since resolved, and the wound is beginning to granulate and heal properly. Based on the highly vascular nature of the ear, there is still intermittent bleeding requiring a dressing to be in place. Given the broad and blunt nature of the wound itself, no sutures were required.”