Jim Justice looks past his business struggles and declares himself a Senate winner in West Virginia

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Jim Justice looks past his business struggles and declares himself a Senate winner in West Virginia

2024-10-26 20:18 Last Updated At：20:21

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — More than a month before the Nov. 5 election, Jim Justice declared victory in his Senate race in deeply Republican West Virginia, a chest thump at the same time the two-term governor was in a behind-the-scenes fight to keep some of his family businesses in good standing.

In a state where Donald Trump won every county in the past two presidential elections, Justice crowned himself as the runaway successor to retiring Sen. Joe Manchin, whose seat had been one of the last lines of defense for Democrats trying to preserve their slim majority.

“I say over and over, judge me by my deeds,” Justice told reporters on Sept. 19.

That challenge could have had another meaning, serving as a reminder about the banks, creditors, federal agencies and others who have hounded Justice for years to pay his debts, including loan defaults, late payments, court fines. He's faced threats of foreclosure. Early in his administration, the governor was sued for not living in the governor's mansion in Charleston as required by law, and when he was there, his list of accomplishments wasn't particularly long or noteworthy.

Most recently, Justice's family paid a debt obligation to ward off a collection company's threat to auction off his Greenbrier resort’s historic hotel.

And yet Justice's boasting probably was justified. The politician with the folksy manner and a pet bulldog named Babydog by his side is in line for a seat that national Democrats pretty much conceded as soon as Manchin decided not to run again. Republicans had made it a top target, and leaders of both parties had come to believe that even Manchin couldn't win a third full term as a Democrat in a state that had become among the most Republican in the nation.

According to AdImpact, which tracks campaign spending data, Democrats have been outspent on the race by Republicans by more than a 5-to-1 margin, with Democrat Glenn Elliott receiving less than $3 million in help from outside groups.

Whether voters ignore Justice's baggage remains to be seen. Elliott was surprised by Justice's public declaration of victory and his refusal to hold a debate. Elliott, a former Wheeling mayor who was endorsed by Manchin before Manchin switched from the Democrat Party to an independent, said voters deserve to know more about Justice, including his finances.

“One of the frustrating parts of the campaign is all the problems the governor has, for whatever reason, does not seem to be sinking in with your average voter,” Elliott said.

In refusing to debate, Justice simply said he was too busy.

“I want to run through the finish line as the governor," he said. “That’s all there is to it."

As governor, Justice pushed through income tax cuts and billions for road repairs and construction. He played up high state revenue surpluses, job creation and tourism.

But he has been criticized for underfunding public schools and the state’s foster care system, and advocates for low-income residents say he has failed to meet the challenges facing the neediest citizens. During the pandemic, some lawmakers attacked Justice’s prize giveaways for people who got vaccinated against the coronavirus as “wasteful spending.”

West Virginia has one of the highest poverty rates in the United States. It also lost the highest percentage of residents among any state over the past decade, an exodus that cost it a seat in Congress, and continued through Justice's second term, according to U.S. Census Bureau population estimates for 2023.

While it's not certain how far back Justice's family debts go, they predate his time as governor and deprive him the right to call himself a billionaire.

“I’m surprised that the liabilities in his business and other things have really not undermined his popularity,” said Robert Rupp, a retired West Virginia Wesleyan College political history professor.

Lawsuits filed more than a decade ago sought unpaid contracting bills or debts owed from Justice family mining operations in Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. Just before he was elected in 2016, Justice’s coal companies owed millions in back taxes to some of Appalachia’s most impoverished counties. His companies also had millions in West Virginia state tax liens.

The challenges kept piling up, hitting a peak this year. Earlier this month Justice's family said it resolved debts to avoid the foreclosure on the Greenbrier hotel, which has hosted presidents and royalty at the resort he bought out of bankruptcy in 2009. A union official at the Greenbrier said in August that Justice's family was at least $2.4 million behind in payments to an employees' health insurance fund, putting workers' coverage at risk.

Justice, who switched parties seven months after taking office, has repeatedly said efforts to seize the hotel were political revenge. The state Democratic Party said it was "a direct consequence of his own financial incompetence.”

Elliott, looking to spread the word, embarked on a summer tour of all 55 counties. Justice conducted few fall campaign stops, instead making economic development announcements and school visits, bringing along Babydog.

Elliott said residents should pay attention to who Justice is, “not the one they see on TV with the dog and the checks to hand out at different ribbon cuttings. But the one who doesn’t pay his bills and doesn’t pay his taxes. Doesn’t respect the process. Doesn’t show up to work. Doesn’t think the voters deserve a chance to see him debate and basically takes their votes for granted.”

Justice's campaign has raised $4.3 million, compared with about $800,000 for Elliott. Justice has stuck to the path he took during an easy GOP primary win over U.S. Rep Alex Mooney.

Even Justice marvels at how smoothly his ride has been.

“I don’t want to say this in an egotistical way," Justice told reporters last month. "In the primary, I didn’t put a sign out. Think about this for a second. I didn’t put one single sign up, and I won by 35-plus points. The people of this state know me. They know me, and they know me really well. I have done almost zero campaigning.

“From the Senate race standpoint and everything, the Senate race is over. We’re going to win the race, and we’re going to win the race going away.”

Trump leaves Michigan rallygoers waiting in the cold for hours to tape Joe Rogan podcast

2024-10-26 20:14 Last Updated At：20:20

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Many of Donald Trump’s supporters left a Michigan rally before he arrived after the former president kept them waiting for three hours to tape a popular podcast interview.

Those who remained at the outdoor rally on an airport tarmac huddled in the cold Friday night as they waited for the former president to touch down in the battleground state.

Trump apologized to the crowd for the delay, which he blamed on an interview with Joe Rogan, the nation’s most listened-to podcaster and an influential voice with younger male voters Trump is aggressively courting.

The interview, taped in Austin, Texas, was released Friday night and ran a whopping three hours, with Trump telling many familiar stories from his rallies and other interviews but also engaging with Rogan on topics like the existence of UFOs.

Democrat Kamala Harris was also in Texas Friday for an appearance with superstar Beyoncé in Houston at an event highlighting the conservative state's abortion ban, which was enacted after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Three of the justices who voted to overturn Roe were nominated by Trump.

Minutes before Trump's Michigan rally was scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. Eastern, his spokesman posted on the social media platform X that Trump was just leaving Texas, more than two hours away by air. Trump recorded a video from his plane urging his supporters to stay, noting it was Friday night and promising, “We’re going to have a good time tonight.”

Trump eventually took the stage at the Traverse City airport, where temperatures dipped to about 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius). The crowd erupted into cheers as video screens showed Trump’s plane arriving and then him walking off his plane and down the steps.

“I am so sorry,” he said. “We got so tied up, and I figured you wouldn’t mind too much because we’re trying to win.”

Attendees who hadn't left bundled up, some covered by blankets, as they waited for him to land. The crowd sounded and looked disengaged as North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Republican gubernatorial candidate Tudor Dixon tried to kill time onstage. Hats were thrown to attendees.

Among those who stuck around at Trump’s rally were John and Cheryl Sowash, who live in Traverse City, and arrived at the airport at 4 p.m.

“Things happen,” said John. “He spoke to a lot more people talking to Joe Rogan than he did here.”

Indeed, Cheryl said she was worried about Trump, who had missed speaking to a larger crowd.

“He’s gonna be disappointed, because there were twice as many people here. He missed it,” she said.

His interview with Rogan created another opportunity for the Republican nominee to highlight the hypermasculine tone that has defined much of his 2024 White House bid. Trump has made masculinity a central theme of his campaign, appearing on podcasts targeting young male voters and tapping surrogates who sometimes use crude language.

Throughout the lengthy conversation, Trump told familiar stories but occasionally dropped new color and nuance.

Rogan pressed Trump on whether he’s “completely committed” to bringing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. into his administration.

“Oh, I completely am,” Trump responded, but added he and Kennedy disagree on environmental policies. He said he’ll tell Kennedy to “focus on health, do whatever you want.”

Kennedy has been instrumental in spreading skepticism about vaccines, rejecting the overwhelming consensus among scientists that the benefits of inoculation outweigh the rare risk of side effects.

Trump again seemed to entertain the idea of eliminating federal income taxes, telling Rogan, “Yeah, sure why not?” when asked by the podcast host if he was serious about it.

He also repeated at length his grievances about the 2020 election but said, "If I win, this will be my last election.”

Trump said he’s “never been a believer” in theories about extraterrestrial life visiting Earth. He said he is asked constantly about what the U.S. government knows about “the people coming from space.” He said as president he was told “a lot” but he dodged Rogan’s entreaties to discuss alien life in detail.

And he criticized federal subsidies aiming to significantly boost U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, one of President Joe Biden’s signature achievements. Chipmakers have credited the legislation for enabling billions of dollars in new factories, including in battleground state Arizona.

He also ripped Taiwan, the self-governing island democracy that has long been aligned with the U.S.

“You know, Taiwan, they stole our chip business,” Trump told Rogan. “OK. They want us to protect and they want protection. They don’t pay us money for the protection, you know? The mob makes you pay money, right?”

Trump called Chinese President Xi Jinping, whose Beijing government considers Taiwan a breakaway province, a “brilliant guy, whether you like it or not.”

The podcaster is known for his hours-long interviews on “The Joe Rogan Experience,” which is listed as No. 1 in the United States, according to Spotify’s charts. He calls women “chicks” and once laughed as a comedian friend described repeatedly coercing young female comics into sex.

Rogan and Trump have a complicated relationship. Rogan had previously said that he declined to host Trump on his podcast before because he did not want to help him.

Earlier this year, Trump criticized Rogan after the podcaster said that Kennedy, then a candidate, was the only person running for president who made sense to him. Kennedy has since suspended his bid, endorsed Trump and joined him on the campaign trail.

In Michigan and at an earlier press conference in Texas, Trump repeatedly mocked his opponent’s rally in Houston. “Kamala is at a dance party with Beyoncé,” he told the Michigan crowd.

He used his trip to Texas, his second stop in a border state in two days, to escalate his already dark and apocalyptic rhetoric against illegal immigration.

“We’re like a garbage can for the rest of the world to dump the people that they don’t want,” Trump told supporters Friday in Austin. Trump has continued to push the unfounded idea that foreign governments actively send criminals to the U.S.

Harris said the remark is “just another example of how he really belittles our country.”

“The president of the United States should be someone who elevates discourse and talks about the best of who we are, and invests in the best of who we are, not someone like Donald Trump, who is constantly demeaning and belittling who the American people are,” Harris told reporters in Houston before her event.

As the temperature in Michigan dropped Friday night and many in the crowd streamed out, Trump suggested that his campaign advisers have urged him not to repeat his past statements about being the “protector” of women.

The former president mimicked advice he said he was getting: “‘Sir, please don’t say you’re going to protect women.’” But he said he planned to keep saying it. “I mean, that’s our job.”

That too was a response of sorts to the Harris event, which was focused on protecting reproductive rights and included a string of women talking about having their health threatened by strict abortion restrictions.

Trump’s rally was also interrupted twice by audience members needing medical attention. After the second incident, Trump asked organizers to play the song Ave Maria to fill the time.

That was reminiscent of a recent Trump rally in Pennsylvania when medical attention being required in the audience caused Trump to sway to that and other songs for nearly 40 minutes.

This time, though, he continued speaking after “Ave Maria” ended.

Weissert reported from Washington and Cooper from Phoenix. Associated Press writers Michelle L. Price in New York, Adriana Gomez Licon in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Melissa Perez Winder in Traverse City, Michigan, contributed to this report.

Jim Justice looks past his business struggles and declares himself a Senate winner in West Virginia

News

Jim Justice looks past his business struggles and declares himself a Senate winner in West Virginia

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