WEST VIRGINIA (WTRF) – Senator Jim Justice (R-WV) shared his thoughts on President Donald Trump’s inauguration Monday afternoon during an exclusive phone call with 7News.
“I think it was absolutely great in so many ways. You can clearly see that President Trump is going to hit the ground running with all in him. I think The Senate is ready to go. The House will have a little more trouble getting there than The Senate. But I think his agenda will be really welcomed in every way. America needs a reset like you can’t imagine. And I think we’re headed for some really good days ahead.” –Sen. Jim Justice | (R) WV
Two big issues on the Senator’s radar heading into the beginning of Trump’s presidency includes energy, one of the key topics of President Trump’s inaugural address, and protections for farmers.
“I told him, I said, ‘energy is everything, Mr. President.’ And he said, ‘I’m stealing that line from you.’ But nevertheless, it is everything. And so, when it really boils right down to it, it’s the answer to inflation, it’s our security blanket on defense. It is absolutely the bridge to really trying to grow revenue in this country.” –Sen. Jim Justice | (R) WV
“The key to growing revenue is right underneath of us,” Senator Justice says. “Whether it be coal or oil or gas or the embracing of all the alternatives, we should be the energy powerhouse of the world. That’s all there is to it.”
Sen. Justice is also passionate about protections for farmers. He says even though the food in grocery stores is expensive, “We have the wealth of unbelievable food,” and “we still spend less than most all the countries of the world on food purchases.”
“I’ll be on the AG committee. You know, we need to protect our farmers. If you just step back and think of the contributions of our family farms all across this country, you know, it is unbelievable what these people do. And they’re the biggest and most productive engines in the world. You know, they are absolutely terrific at what they do as well. It’s unbelievable and we need to appreciate them. That’s all there is to it in my book.” –Sen. Jim Justice | (R) WV
Sen. Justice says protections for farmers is important because they continue to provide food to the nation despite potential economic struggles.
“I can’t say any better than this. Farmers all across this country love what they do beyond good sense. And truly from just a pure economic standpoint, it would be better for most of them to sell their property and just put their money in a pension plan or whatever it may be and go hang out. But they don’t want to do that. These people are the most productive engines on the planet, and they love what they’re doing. And yet they go out for us every day. A lot of them are driving a 12-year-old pickup truck and they absolutely just try to make it anyway in every way they can. And they are absolutely giving us so much.” –Sen. Jim Justice | (R) WV
The Senator circled back to the topic of energy saying he believes investments in energy will help lower the cost of groceries. “We need to drive that down because we know what’s happening in our grocery stores recently. And I truly believe that energy is the route to be able to drive it down.”
Senator Justice says he is looking forward to working with the President on these issues as he continues to represent the Mountain State.