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PARKERSBURG -- The Executive Committee of the Wood County Democratic Party on Thursday condemned a comment by the governor that all presidents except perhaps President Barack Obama would be welcome in West Virginia.
"Be it resolved that the Wood County West Virginia Democratic Executive Committee hereby condemns the divisive and incendiary comments made by Gov. Jim Justice on June 3, 2020," the resolution said.
Justice made the comment on Wednesday during his daily briefing on the pandemic. Justice was criticized on social media over the timing because of the unrest across the country over the killing of George Floyd by a police officer and later in the day he issued a statement saying the comment was in jest and he was referring to Obama's "war on coal."
The state and nation should be united against racism and police brutality, but "Justice instead conveyed to the entire world that West Virginia welcomes all U.S. presidents, with the exclusion of the only African-American President," the Wood County Democratic Party said.
"Our state and our country need healing from the deep scars of institutional racism and Gov. Jim Justice needs to apologize for the injury he has caused," the party resolution said.