His comment was pretty mild, but Tom Kean Jr., at least in a small way, dared to part ways with Donald Trump. It was over the Gateway Tunnel. Here is what he said today.

"I support the Gateway Project because reliable rail infrastructure is critical to our national security, to New Jersey commuters, and to the regional economy. I have been engaged with colleagues from both parties, labor leaders and project stakeholders to help move forward responsibly.
I respect President Trump's concern about cost overruns and share the view that strong oversight and accountability are essential to a project of this scale. Where I differ is that I believe Gateway is too important to delay and that we can advance the project while still protecting taxpayers.
My focus is on delivering a project that works for the Seventh District, keeps commerce moving and is built with transparency and discipline."

After a few weeks of Mikie Sherrill-led press events condemning the president for "terminating" the project, construction money (about $200 million of it) began flowing again this week.

"We took the president to court and won," the governor said in a social media post.

That was true. The federal courts acted on a suit filed by New Jersey and New York.

A new rail tunnel under the Hudson is a bi-partisan project. It's not as if trains are restricted to Democrats.

That being the case, Joe Hathway, the Republican running in the special CD-11 election, posted a message that supported Gateway and said that the president should not be using New Jersey as a pawn - meaning a pawn in a political fight.

This backdrop prompted attention to fall on Kean, whose Seventh District includes many commuters.

That's because of two very practical reasons.

While GOP leaning, his district covering at least parts of Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset, Sussex, Union and Warren counties is the most competitive in the state.

Kean also has a reputation of avoiding public interaction with the press and others with the exception of pre-packaged events that are not announced in advance.

Kean a few weeks ago released a statement supporting Gateway, but said nothing about the president, who, of course, was the guy who stopped the project.

His latest statement, at least, mentions Trump, a concession, albeit a small one, to reality.