Gov. Jim Justice Holds West Virginia Administrative Updates Briefing After Speaking At The RNC

2 months ago

On Thursday, Gov. Jim Justice (R-WV) delivered remarks on legislative and administrative updates for the state of West Virginia after speaking at the Republican National Convention.

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Transcript

00:00Hello everyone. It's July the 18th, Thursday. Thanks so much for being with

00:05us. You know, I'm sure a bunch of you tuned in on Tuesday night at the

00:11Republican National Convention. I had the opportunity to speak. You know, I hope you

00:16thought it came off well and everything. I can tell you that, you know, for the

00:21folks out there, they were tremendous to me. It was a really great time. I had the

00:27opportunity to spend a little bit of time with Kathy and I, you know, with the West

00:32Virginia delegation. A lot of great folks there and they seem to be

00:36having a good time and I think the whole convention is moving along in a

00:42really good manner and everything. I wanted, you know, to craft my speech

00:47differently. You know, you hear all the typical political speeches and

00:52everything but, you know, I really wanted to talk about what I thought was the

00:58bottom line to the whole everything that's going on in this country and that

01:03is just this and that's, you know, I really believed I said it in the speech

01:08but I think we've become completely unhinged as a nation if Donald Trump

01:15doesn't win. You know, we saw a man with unbelievable courage, you know, that, you

01:23know, had just gotten a part of his ear blown off and everything and could have

01:27absolutely been much, much, much worse. We all know that but what did he do? I mean,

01:33he stood, you know, and to make sure that the crowd knew that everything that he

01:39was okay and absolutely to let the world know that he was okay, he stood and

01:46threw his hand up just like this and that's what I did at the very end as

01:50tribute to him, you know, but at the end of the day, I just wanted to tell the

01:57world a side of Donald Trump that I know. I know as his good friend and I know

02:04lots about the family and I've been with the family on many occasions and

02:09absolutely with all in me, that's why I wanted to basically tell about a man

02:15that I know how much he really cares and how much he cares about all of us, you

02:21know, it's genuine. You know, we all know all the things about Donald Trump

02:27that he's a tough guy and he's super smart, he's a businessman, on and on and

02:31on, but we don't know about what he's taught his kids, what he's taught his

02:37kids about standing up for the military and our first responders and standing up

02:43for working men and women all across this land and being respectful and

02:48loving those people, you know, we don't know about the values that he taught his

02:55children about working hard and everything. We don't know about, you know,

03:01the values of how that work transcended into, you know, I'm on top of that

03:08mountain in no-man's land, I mean a long, long, long ways from the closest, you

03:16know, house in any way and I blew the tire out on a four-by-four that I had

03:22and when I did, you know, the first guy, because I was with Eric Trump, the, you

03:28know, Eric in no, in no time at all was underneath the vehicle jerking the spare

03:35tire out and there we changed the tire, you know. These kids work and they

03:42have the right values and absolutely they were taught that by their dad, you

03:47know, so when you put it all together and then, and then the other aspect is,

03:52you know, Kathy and I just had our first grandbaby, you know, a little boy, JC, and

04:00and so with all that being said, you know, I'm in the green room and the President's

04:06getting ready to go out and talk. There's a MAGA hat laying there and I picked

04:12it up and I said, Mr. President, would you sign this for our newborn grandson?

04:17His name is JC and he said, sure, Jim, and he grabbed it and he wrote on it, JC,

04:24always work hard, and then signed it, President Donald J. Trump. Now look, let

04:31me tell you, the world, the world needs to hear that stuff and that's what I tried

04:38to do. I basically tried to tell the world a side about Donald Trump that a

04:44lot of people would never, ever know and, and so, and I wanted to make you proud,

04:50West Virginia, because you absolutely are the best of the best of the best. That's

04:56why I challenged everybody right off the get-go, you know, I said how great you

05:01were and to come and see us and see for yourself, and so with all that being said,

05:07I think the, I think the convention's going great, you know, I don't know really as

05:15far as making any predictions on what's going to happen in regard to the

05:20President Biden, but I really felt like that it was time for somebody to talk

05:28not about themselves, not about issues that we've got as far as the border

05:34inflation or what everybody seemed to talk about, you know, but really and not

05:40talk, not talk about our opponents, not talk about President Biden, but really

05:47talk about what is the most important thing of all. You see, that convention

05:53doesn't matter at all if we don't elect Donald Trump, and all the different

05:58things that are going on all across this land, they don't matter at all if we

06:02don't elect Donald Trump. Do you really not believe that if we don't elect

06:07Donald Trump and we elect Joe Biden or Kamala Harris, what's going to happen to

06:13our nation? And so with all that being said, we want to be respectful and

06:17everything, but we got to win. We got to win right now, and so that's part of the

06:27reason that I closed with baby dogs prediction, because I knew the

06:32crowd would love that, and really and truly the last thing I said, and I have

06:38said this all across our state, all across our land for a long time, there's

06:44a reason, there's a reason why, to be perfectly honest, there's a reason why I

06:51take all the crap on bad days. You know, a lot of times it's not very fair, but you

07:00just take it and you move forward, and why do you do what you do when you

07:07decide to serve? Why is Donald Trump absolutely fighting for us every day, is

07:14what I said, and why does he have to go through all the senseless persecution

07:19all the time? And then I turned and said, why does he do it? And I said, I know, I

07:27know exactly why, because we're worth it. Absolutely, at the end of the day, that's

07:36exactly how I feel. The reason good people do something is because this

07:44nation, all the Tobian-eths, all of us are worth it. So with all that being said, you

07:52know, we got to win. We've got to elect Donald Trump. Now's our time. Let me show

08:02you some some good news here on the Tax Foundation map, you know, but last week

08:08the Tax Foundation released a map on state population changes in 2023,

08:14revealing that West Virginia ranked 19th for inbound migration, people coming into

08:21our state, and that's really not all that bad. We'd like it to be better, but what

08:26does it all surround? Just look. Look at those states for the most part. Read

08:32the driver. You see, I spoke the other night about what was the bottom line. The

08:39bottom line is Donald Trump's got to win. Now I'm speaking to you about the Tax

08:43Foundation map. What's the bottom line? The states you see that are growing the

08:49most, the states that are in the blue all over the place, for the most part, don't

08:56have a state income tax, or they're on their way to significantly getting rid

09:02of their state income tax. Absolutely, you know, that's the bottom line. There's

09:08no driver on the planet that's going to be better than that. That's why I'm

09:13asking the legislature now, we triggered another 4%. So we're going to go, we're

09:19going, your income tax are going to reduce another 4%, but I said that's

09:23not enough, and with these surpluses that we have, the magnitude of them, if we

09:28can't find $120 million, there's something really, really, really wrong

09:33with us. That's all there is to it, and it's the people's money. That's why I'm

09:38asking for another 5%, you know, from the legislature, and I hope that you'll ring

09:45their numbers, and absolutely urge them to pass that dollar and those

09:51monies on to you when we call them back into session. So nevertheless, it's

09:57plain as the nose on my face, you know, right there it is, and all you got to do

10:03is just go right through the list and everything, and all of a sudden you'll

10:06see Texas, and Florida, and Tennessee, and North Carolina really working it, and

10:11then if you'll go back the other way, you'll see Wyoming, and you'll see South

10:15Dakota, and you'll see other states that are absolutely working it. The states

10:20that are absolutely losing population like crazy, you know, you know, what are

10:26those states? Those are the states that are taxing the people the worst.

10:30Illinois, California, New York, all of them are losing population like crazy. Well, we

10:36want to gain, don't we? We know what the answer is. Come on, we know exactly what

10:42the answer is. Let's get on with what we should be doing. Okay, we got a great big

10:50economic announcement on Monday. You know, I hope you'll absolutely stay tuned to

10:57everything that's going on there, and you know, from economic development, you'll

11:02see, you know, I'll chair the meeting on Monday, and then we'll go on from there

11:07to another spot, but big day on Monday. Stay tuned, and more good news coming to

11:14West Virginia. I'm excited to announce, you know, that we have recommended

11:21$18.6 million in Appalachian Regional Commission grants for 11 projects. That's

11:27all good stuff and everything. Those projects are going on all across our

11:31state and everything for local infrastructure and lots of different

11:34stuff. They'll make life better. They'll make our work life better. They'll make

11:38raising a family better. Lots and lots of good stuff right there. Here's a really

11:44good one. This is really good. Now, we got tons more to do. We all know that, and

11:50we have tragedies happen from time to time. We need to try to prevent in every

11:56single way, but from a foster care standpoint, I'm happy to announce that

12:01the number of children in this state that are in state custody right now is

12:07at the lowest that it's been in the last seven years. We've worked it. We worked it

12:14really hard. Can we do a whole lot more? Of course we can. Do we need to do a

12:19whole lot more? Of course we do, but this is the first time since March of 2017

12:26that we have dropped below 6,000 kids that are in state custody right now.

12:33So with all that being said, you know, good stuff. Let's keep working. Let's just

12:40make it better and better. Plum Orchard Lake. Now many of you would think, well

12:47good gracious, you know, how does Justice know where Plum Orchard Lake is? Well, let

12:52me tell you. Jim Justice took his little fly rod with

12:57popping bugs and went to Plum Orchard Lake many, many, many times and would

13:03catch a bundle of bluegills and then fillet them because there's nothing

13:09better, nothing better as far as I'm concerned, than a fish to eat in bluegills.

13:14And so, but we're, I'm excited to announce that we've added two new

13:20floating docks and completed shore maintenance upgrades at Plum Orchard and

13:27everything. So go to Plum Orchard. Enjoy. It is an absolute wonderful, wonderful

13:32lake to fish and everything and lots of good stuff going on right there. And you

13:38can see all across the land what we've done with our state forest and our parks

13:43and everything and the number of folks that are coming. All we got to do is just,

13:49is just advertise ourselves. I mean, that's, that's what this is all about. The

13:56more people that come to West Virginia, not only are they spending their dollars

14:00all over the place here, but really and truly, you know, it, word travels all over

14:06the place and there's more people coming, more people coming that are bringing

14:10businesses and more people coming that are going to live here. So, awful good

14:14stuff. This is in regard to the DNR, the lottery, you know, at Twin Falls State

14:22Park and everything. You know, I want to again remind everybody that applications

14:27are open for this once-in-a-lifetime archery hunt and everything and the

14:33whitetail frenzy folks are going to take, you know, one person that is a lucky

14:38hunter that, you know, there's, there's many, you know, applications that are going to

14:42be granted, but in addition to that, the whitetail frenzy people are going to

14:47take, you know, a lucky hunter on a hunt with them and everything and you'll be

14:52on national television and these guys are fabulous. So, so, you know, get your

14:59applications in and enjoy. And that's all I've got. Not a great big agenda today, so

15:06nevertheless, thank y'all. All right, thank you, Governor. We'll now take

15:10questions from members of the media. First up today, Mark Curtis with Nextar

15:13Media. Good afternoon. Congratulations on you and Baby Dog appearing at the

15:18Republican National Convention. We got a lot of publicity for West Virginia and I

15:22thought it was neat that you made a shout out and invited people to come

15:25visit us, bring all the tourists here. On a serious note though, Governor, a local

15:30attorney here in the Charleston area, Harvey Payton, says he has been contacted

15:34by some people who wanted, want him to look into filing a lawsuit regarding the

15:39appearance of Baby Dog in the mural at the Capitol. They're questioning

15:43what the expenditure was on that and whether there was proper approval by the

15:49Capitol Building Commission. I'd like to get your reaction to that. Mark, look, you

15:56know, first of all, nobody consulted me about it in the beginning or at all, you

16:01know, along the way and, you know, I'm sure not going to talk about potential

16:08litigation. Do we not have a little bit more to do in life? I

16:12mean, really and truly, you know, from what I understand, the artist said, you know,

16:18that he felt like a dog ought to be in the thing and then folks said,

16:23well, look, I don't know how in the world we could have anything better than, you

16:26know, maybe one of Baby Dog's, you know, descendants and everything. So, I mean,

16:32that's how it came into being. I mean, give me a break. I mean, for God's sakes

16:37of living, you know, I think we ought to just, you know, if all we're going to do

16:43here is just try to throw rocks at one another and everything, so be it, you know,

16:47but I'm not going to comment on that. It's a waste of time. All right, thank you,

16:53Mark. Let's now turn to John Mark Shaver with WV News. Good afternoon, Governor.

16:59Earlier, you spoke about the special session wanting to cut the personal

17:04income tax to another 5%. Do you have any idea of when that session will be

17:09called and do you plan on including anything on that agenda aside from the

17:13tax cuts? Thank you. I didn't hear the last part. You know, I heard when will it be

17:19called and then I didn't get the last part. I'm sorry. The last part was aside

17:25from the tax cuts, is there anything else that you would like to put on that agenda?

17:31Who was this? Was this Mark or this wasn't Mark? Governor, this was John Mark

17:43Shaver. Okay, okay, all right, John Mark. Okay, well, John Mark, listen, we're

17:49thinking about some other things to add, but in the time frame, you know, we'll

17:54have to be somewhere in mid to late August and, you know, and so, and I

18:02guess it could be pushed back a little further than that, but at the end

18:06of the day, you know, John Mark, just like I just said, you know, about the, you know,

18:13the Republican National Convention going on and all the different things that are

18:17going on and they're all important, but the bottom line to one thing is it's

18:21exactly what I've said so many times, you know, if we continue on the pathway for

18:27four more years that we're on right now, I don't know what's gonna happen to this

18:31country and so, therefore, I think we've got to elect Donald Trump hands down.

18:35That's the bottom line. The bottom line to this state is there's nothing, there

18:41is nothing, John Mark, no matter what anybody says, there is nothing that will

18:46drive population of this state any greater than cutting the personal income

18:50tax. It's the people's money, for crying out loud. On top of that, we've got eight

18:55hundred and twenty six point six million dollars in surplus now, but in addition

19:02to that, John Mark, we've got four hundred plus interest money in the reserve fund

19:07for the personal income tax that's sitting there on top of that and a

19:13billion plus dollars in the rainy day fund. Now, John Mark, tell me why in the

19:20world it wouldn't make great sense to step out, you know, we want the

19:26legislature to see all the numbers. I'm told, I'm told by our

19:32revenue people, you know, that this is absolutely as safe as it can possibly be

19:37and John Mark, for God's sakes a living son, tell me just this, from when I walked

19:44in the door, when did I not manage the store properly? When have I not done that?

19:51I mean, the cares money through everything, everything all along and

19:58we're cooking now and so absolutely we need to reward our people more and

20:05aggressively as we possibly can. Every single time we do more, we generate more

20:15better stuff for West Virginia. That's what we need to do. So the centerfold of the

20:23whole thing in regard to the special session, if there is anything else, will

20:28be my request to do another 5%. Okay, thank you, John Mark. Governor, back to you.

20:38Well, first of all, thanks everybody, you know, for being on today and I'm just

20:44going to look real quick, but big economic development announcement on

20:51Monday and good stuff on the grants that we're going to be able to do

21:00that, the 11 projects. Best thing to me was, you know, hearing that we had dropped

21:07below 6,000 kids, that's 6,000 too many in my book, but dropping

21:13below that lowest number, you know, of kids, foster kids in state custody and

21:19everything since that time is always really good stuff and I want to

21:25just look one more time here, but

21:36you know, all good, all good. Said in addition to that, the kids that have

21:42been placed with families and everything, more than half of them are placed in

21:48families of kinship and that's really good too. So that's all I've got. Thank

21:56you so much. God bless this great city.

Gov. Jim Justice Holds West Virginia Administrative Updates Briefing After Speaking At The RNC

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