Democratic New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy railed at Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz on Friday after the congressman announced he had attended a “secret” gala for Young Republicans.

“It is also beyond the pale that a member of Congress … would participate in this, and … that guy in the middle, the tall handsome fella in the gray suit, that is Rep. Matt Putz, sorry Matt Gaetz,” Murphy instructed reporters at a news conference in Trenton.

“And based on his past performances, it is obvious being a knucklehead is not beyond the pale for him.” (RELATED: ‘Come And Get Me’: Congressman Attends Secret Young Republicans’ Gala, Taunts Cuomo)

Although it was the New York chapter of the Young Republicans celebrating, they held the event in neighboring New Jersey because crowd restrictions are less severe. Gaetz appeared without a face mask in a photo from the event in a Twitter post.

The governor accused Gaetz of violating state lockdown orders. “So from the videos on social media and certainly this picture there is no obvious attempt to enforce social distancing or face masks, even though wearing masks indoors in New Jersey is mandatory at organized gatherings when individuals are not eating or drinking,” he said, adding that it was “beyond the pale that anyone would willingly endanger people in another state, never mind their own.”

The New York Young Republican Club invited former Republican Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to address the event but she decided not to attend due to caution around the spiking coronavirus, the New York Times reported.

Murphy noted that Gaetz was a “back-up” for Palin at the event. The governor continued to show pictures of Gaetz to the crowd, referring to one with the congressman in a gas mask as “kind of a scene out of ‘Dr. Strangelove.’ What a fool.”

Murphy had some words of warning for the high-profile congressman. “I hope you’re watching, Matt. You are not welcome in New Jersey and frankly, I don’t ever want you back in this state,” adding that state law enforcement officers are investigating whether the gala contravened lockdown orders. (RELATED: Rep. Matt Gaetz: US Funding Chinese Research Center In Wuhan)

When asked if he assessed whether lockdown measures in his state violated Constitutional rights, Murphy told Fox News host Tucker Carlson, “I wasn’t thinking about the Bill of Rights.”