West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice and his bulldog travel about 25 miles across the West Virginia border into Pennsylvania on Thursday for a campaign event for former President Donald Trump.
Justice – who has repeatedly called the former president a close friend over the years – will speak to voters at 6 p.m. at the Trump campaign headquarters in Waynesburg. Trump will not attend the event, which is part of his campaign’s ongoing “tour” through battleground states that will prove pivotal in his November race against Vice President Kamala Harris.
Babydog, Justice’s English Bulldog, who was used as a political prop for the voivode above last few yearsIt will also have a presence in Pennsylvania, according to the press release. This isn’t the first time Babydog has been used politically on a national level; Justice in July he brought her on stage for his speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where she was staying was met with applause by those present and via the Internet.
The pause in Justice’s campaign for Trump comes as the governor has done little official campaigning for his own senatorial campaign in West Virginia.
While Justice was organizing events across the state in recent months have been hiding under the guise of gubernatorial affairs. His latest event was Tuesday at Barboursville High School, where organized a birthday party to Babydog at taxpayer expense and in the presence of other government officials.
Justice has repeatedly used his weekly virtual news conferences to share what many would consider his race’s campaign messages, even though those briefings are paid for and broadcast by the state of West Virginia.
During those briefings, Justice told reporters he was extremely confident he would be elected to the Senate in November, defeating his challenger, former Wheeling mayor and Democrat Glenn Elliott. They are running for the seat currently held by Sen. Joe Manchin, R-IW., who announced last year he would not seek re-election.
The governor has consistently supported Trump and his political positions since 2017, often defending the former president when criticism and accusations are leveled against him. In August 2017, Justice joined Trump at a political rally in Huntington, where he was governor announced that he was leaving Democratic Party and registering as a Republican.
“This man is a good man,” Justice said of Trump at the rally. “He has a backbone. He has real ideas. He cares about America. He cares about us in West Virginia.
When Trump was impeached for a crime last spring, Justice called court proceedings “witch hunt” and nothing more than political attacks on those who disagree with him. He repeated these words in May this year, when Trump was in charge convicted and found guilty by a New York grand jury on 34 counts related to attempting to illegally influence the 2016 election.
“The guilty verdict against President Donald Trump is a deeply disturbing and politicized decision that undermines the principles of justice. The witch hunt against President Trump continues today,” Justice said in a statement at the time. “I will always value my friendship with Donald J. Trump and the Trump family and will never waive my support. We must do everything we can to help re-elect President Trump in November.”
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