Gov. Jim Justice and his pet bulldog travel about 25 miles across the border from West Virginia to Pennsylvania on Thursday for a campaign rally in support of former President Donald Trump.
Justice — who has consistently described the former president as a close, personal friend of his for years — will speak to voters at the Trump campaign headquarters in Waynesburg at 6 p.m. Trump will not be present at the event, part of his campaign’s ongoing “road trip” through battleground states that will prove crucial in the race against Vice President Kamala Harris in November.
Babydog, Justice’s English bulldog who was used as a pet political support for the governor over the last few yearsHe will also have a presence in Pennsylvania, according to a press release. This is not the first time that Babydog has been used politically at the national level. in July, justice brought her on stage for his speech at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where she was was greeted with applause by those present and the Internet.
Justice’s campaign stop for Trump comes as the governor has done little official campaigning for his own Senate race in West Virginia.
While justice was Carrying out events For the past few months, they have been all over the state under the guise of gubernatorial business. His last event was Tuesday at Barboursville Middle School, where he organized a birthday party for Babydog at taxpayer expense and in the presence of other state officials.
Justice has also repeatedly used his weekly virtual press conferences to push what many would consider to be campaign messages for his race, even though those briefings were paid for and broadcast by the state of West Virginia.
Justice told reporters at those briefings that he was incredibly confident he would be elected to the Senate in November ahead of his competitor, former Wheeling mayor and Democrat Glenn Elliott. They are running for the seat currently held by Sen. Joe Manchin, R-W.Va., who announced last year that he would not seek re-election.
The governor has consistently supported Trump and his political stance since 2017 and often defends the former president when criticism and allegations are made against him. In August 2017, Justice attended a political rally with Trump in Huntington, where the governor was in attendance announced he was leaving the 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 takes care of us in West Virginia.”
When Trump was criminally charged last spring, the justice system was the court proclaimed a “witch hunt” and nothing more than political attacks against those who disagree with him. He repeated these lines in May this year when Trump was there convicted and found guilty by a New York jury on 34 charges related to his attempts to illegally influence the 2016 election.
“The guilty verdict against President Donald Trump is a deeply troubling 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.”
