Murphy won’t make Trump quarantine when he comes to NJ

President Donald Trump will not have to follow Gov. Phil Murphy's new mandate that travelers from COVID-19 hot-spot states quarantine for 14 days when they arrive in New Jersey, when the president visits his Bedminster golf club this weekend.

The quarantine was announced Wednesday by Murphy, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont.  Murphy said during their joint announcement the travel advisory and self-quarantine measures are "the smart thing to do" and later added that it's "not a polite recommendation."

The White House in a statement said Trump is not a civilian and all those who are in close proximity to him, including staff, guests and press are tested for COVID-19.

Trump is expected to arrive on Friday at his Trump National Golf Club for the weekend after traveling to Arizona, one of the states New Jersey has identified as a hot spot.

Two Secret Service agents who were on the advance team for his campaign trip to Oklahoma on Saturday later tested positive for coronavirus. Okalhoma is not on the list of hot spots.

“There is a carve -ut for essential workers and by definition the President of the United States is an essential worker and I know folks get tested around him all the time,” Murphy told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Wednesday night.

Murphy said the mandate is an "advisory" and it's not legally being enforced but rather through "moral suasion." The governor said Americans cannot be prevented from traveling from one state to another but said he hoped they would do the right thing

"I think the bigger point here is we want folks to really be responsible in terms of thinking about not just themselves but their families and their communities, and we've beaten this virus down to a pulp in New Jersey with enormous loss of life. We've been through hell and we don't want to go through hell again," Murphy said.

The Cuomo administration said violators in New York will be subject to mandatory quarantine and face fines from $2,000 to $10,000. Violators could be discovered at business meetings or during a traffic stop, he said.

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