Global Courant 2023-05-02 03:37:27
FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Alex Mooney, RW.Va., a candidate for the U.S. Senate in his state, welcomed Governor Jim Justice to the primary on Thursday with a new ad bashing the newcomer about his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Justice, who officially launched his bid earlier today to win the seat currently held by Senator Joe Manchin, DW.Va., was first elected governor in 2016 and led West Virginia through the pandemic years with largely mixed reviews of his fellow Republicans.
One West Virginia Republican who praised Justice in his efforts to fight the coronavirus was Mooney himself. However, in an ad released after the launch of Justice’s campaign, the four-term congressman reversed his previous views on the governor’s job performance, criticizing him for what he called his “liberal record.”
“Jim Justice is trying to hide his liberal record. As governor, Justice destroyed cases and lives when he put our state on lockdown. And big Jim passed the biggest tax hike in West Virginia history, supported Joe Biden’s trillion dollar spending bill, and tried to prevent adults from buying sporting rifles,” the ad read.
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“Now, big Jim wants to be your senator, but he can’t mask the truth. Liberal Jim Justice just can’t be trusted,” it added.
Contrary to the ad, Mooney previously praised Justice for its handling of COVID-19, including appearing alongside the latter at a news conference with an update on the state’s response to the pandemic in August 2020.
“Thank you, Governor, and your team for your leadership at this important time,” Mooney said at the news conference, before going on to praise funding for business loans to keep them afloat during the pandemic, and for the opportunity for parents to send money their children back to private school learning.
Mooney again praised Justice on another occasion in August 2020 during a press conference with then-Vice President Mike Pence about fighting the pandemic.
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Rep. Alex Mooney, RW.Va., (left) and West Virginia Republican Governor Jim Justice (right). (Getty/AP Photo/Chris Jackson)
“Our governor has come up with a system that works for West Virginia. It might be different for different states. Frankly, it’s different for different regions within our state. You know, southern West Virginia has different issues than the northern panhandle. So we need flexibility I appreciate the flexibility. I appreciate having a governor who we can talk to about our congressional districts and what’s needed. So thank you for that. Thank you both for what you’re doing there,” Money said.
After the outbreak of the pandemic, so did Mooney signed a letter to then-President Donald Trump of the entire West Virginia congressional delegation in support of Justice’s disaster declaration in response.
However, a spokesperson for Mooney’s campaign dismissed any notion that the congressman fully supported the Justice Department’s pandemic measures when asked by Fox News Digital about the apparent differences in attitudes from then to now.
“In Washington, Alex Mooney consistently co-sponsored and voted for legislation to end the COVID-19 national emergency and to reverse vaccine and mask mandates,” campaign manager John Findlay said. “Mooney only supported COVID measures in the very first weeks of the pandemic. He was one of the first and most consistent voices against harsh lockdowns and draconian COVID mandates.”
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Then-President Donald Trump shakes hands with West Virginia Governor Jim Justice, who announced at the rally that he would be switching sides from Democrat to Republican, at a Make America Great Again Rally at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena in Huntington, West Virginia, August 3, 2017 . (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
“Meanwhile, Governor Jim Justice supported trillions in lavish COVID-19 spending, enacted harsh lockdowns, and ensured West Virginia was one of the last states to end the COVID-19 state of emergency,” he added . “Justice was actively looking for ways to continue the COVID-19 state of emergency in West Virginia, while Mooney worked to help West Virginia residents return to their normal lives – it’s quite a contrast.”
Justice, who left the Democratic Party and became a Republican in 2017, took a less aggressive approach than other Republicans across the country by ending measures in place in his state to fight COVID-19, including in the field of vaccines and masks.
In March 2021, Justice defended West Virginia’s mask mandate and pushed back calls to end the restriction. “I don’t know what the big rush is to get rid of the masks. These masks save lives,” he told CNN. “We’re going to do the smart thing in West Virginia. We’re not going to do the politically correct thing.”
He echoed that sentiment in another interview that month, asking West Virginians to “be more careful” a little longer.
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Rep. Alex Mooney, RW.Va., attends a campaign rally at the Westmoreland Fair Grounds in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, on May 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
In July 2021, while imploring West Virginians to take the COVID-19 vaccine, he told those who had not yet been vaccinated that they were “part of the problem,” and later pushed back on President Biden’s claim of September 2022 that the pandemic was “over.”
“I don’t think the pandemic is over,” Justice told members of the West Virginia media, according to MetroNews. “I think we can live with this pandemic, but the more people we can get across the finish line and get vaccinated, the better we can live with this pandemic. It’s not over. It’s definitely not over.”
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Fox News Digital reached out to the Justice Department campaign for comment, but received no response.
Brandon Gillespie is an associate editor at Fox News. Follow him on Twitter at @brandon_cg.
