A governor’s speech less than a week before Donald Trump becomes president has a “so what” quality to it.

That’s no criticism of Phil Murphy.

It’s that Trump simply takes the political air out of the room.

Murphy made legitimate points in his penultimate State of the State address on Tuesday, but political observers just can’t overlook Trump’s return and all that figures to come with it – whether it’s sending U.S troops to the U.S., threatening to put adversaries in jail or dreaming about making Canada a state.

It did not take long for the governor to mention the “elephant that is not in the room.”

This is how he did it:

“In a few days, a new President will take power in Washington.

Now, I know there is some uncertainty – and even concern – about what this new Administration will bring.
So here is my promise to the people of New Jersey:
I will never back away from partnering with the Trump Administration where our priorities align.
But just as importantly, I will never back down from defending our New Jersey values –  if and when they are tested.”

And then:

“In New Jersey, our values are who we are. I’m not done yet. And we’re not done yet.
But if you try to attack our people or our values, without cause, make no mistake: we will fight back even harder.”

Murphy, in fact, began saying very much the same thing the day after the election.
How this will actually play out remains to be seen. Or rather, what remains to be seen is what Trump does.

The Trump factor handled – at least in a speech – Murphy moved on.
One of his more interesting ideas was to ban cell phones in school.

This, one imagines, is a generational thing. To some, the notion of kids having a phone in class seems unfathomable, but times have changed.

“Enough is enough. It is time for action,” the governor said regarding classroom phones.

This idea got nice applause, but the Republican response did not seem overwhelming. Go figure? Do they love cell phones in school, or are they conditioned to oppose everything a Democratic governor says?

One can not give a speech without mentioning the economy. Three observations will be made here.
Murphy acknowledged how economic signs are good – the stock market is way up. But then he said:

“While the stock market is soaring, the cost of living – from groceries to housing – has skyrocketed.”

Now, he did not make the connection, but one reason Trump is coming back to the White House is because too many average people were not sold on the economy.

He also talked about property taxes and highlighted the Anchor rebate program. A fair point to be sure.

But actually cutting property taxes – a feature of home rule – seems beyond the capability of Murphy and for that matter, many previous governors.

Let’s see what the next governor will do with property taxes.

The last economic point made here was Murphy’s trumpeting of a minimum wage that now exceeds $15 per hour. As the governor noted to critics, paying people horribly, low wages serves no one.

The governor threw in a few barbs.

Noting that recent data shows the state’s population is increasing, he ridiculed that annual United Van Lines report of flocks of people moving out of New Jersey.

And he said New Jersey is not trying to solve its transportation problems by raiding another state. To that end, he vowed to keep on fighting New York City’s congestion pricing.

In case you are wondering, Murphy has 371 days to go as governor.

This is a man who likes sports cliches. So, he promised to “run through the tape” and keep working for such things as all-day kindergarten statewide, paid family leave for employees, and the stockpiling of the abortion drug mifepristone in case of a Trump Administration ban.

One obstacle to the governor’s dash through the finish line is political reality.

Those 371 days are going to go fast. And he is a lame duck.