NEW YORK — Originally, the New York Young Republican Club was supposed to hold its annual gala in Chelsea, and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin was to be the keynote speaker. 

But the event fell through, and Palin pulled out. And organizers quietly moved the gala across the Hudson River to Jersey City — while being publicly defiant about the event, which included frequent right-wing media guest, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz. 


What You Need To Know

  • Gov. Cuomo says the New York Young Republican Club violated the law when it moved its gala across the Hudson River to Jersey City

  • New Jersey officials were furious after photos surfaced showing a lack of social distancing and guests not wearing masks

  • Congressman Matt Gaetz, who attended the gala, had a Twitter fight with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy

New Jersey officials were not pleased, especially after video and pictures Friday surfaced showing the attendees in close proximity and not wearing masks.

 

Gov. Andrew Cuomo weighed in as well: “They couldn’t do it in New Jersey either," he said in a Friday afternoon conference call with the news media. "New Jersey’s rules are similar to New York’s rules. Why they chose to go to Jersey to violate the rules rather than violating the rules in New York, I have no idea.”

The party’s attendees took to social media to mock their critics. Thursday night, an attendee tweeted, “Hey Governor Cuomo, I'm at the Young Republican club with Congressman Matt Gaetz. Come and get me.”

That prompted this response from Jersey City Municipal Attorney Jake Hudnut: “Pssst...you are in Jersey City - not New York. Governor Cuomo may not be able to “come and get” you, But I can.”

Hudnut later tweeted that the restaurant, Maritime Parc, located inside Liberty State Park in Jersey City, had been ordered closed.

Cuomo has become a target of Republicans across the state who take issue with his COVID-19 restrictions. 

“Look, I want to see young Republicans grow into old Republicans. Right?" the governor said. "This is about preventing deaths. Religious services, I want people to attend regions services — I just don’t want them to be funerals. It’s about protecting life."

Like much of our discourse this pandemic, the fight continued to play out on social media. In a twitter back-and-forth, Gov. Phil Murphy called Gaetz a yiddish insult, and told him never to come back to New Jersey. Gaetz tweeted back that Murphy will regret that tweet when he moves to Florida like the rest of his state.

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