Trump Popular But Health Care Divides Southern West Virginia Voters

Voters in Southern West Virginia likely will support President Donald Trump as they did in the 2016 election. But some register concern over big-ticket issues like health care and they say the Affordable Care Act may have helped people who are poor but it hurt small businesses and the working class.

Henry Hornsby Jr. has never been what you would say, “big on politics” or elections. He’s not proud to admit that he wasn’t even registered to vote until the last presidential election in 2016.

You know, I just, I’ve always felt like you … worried about yourself and your own,” Hornsby said as he sat at his desk surrounded by family photos and pictures of vintage race cars. “Sometimes you hear who’s won the presidency before West Virginia, even votes.”

“I just really never felt like West Virginia even mattered towards the presidency and stuff. And secondly, I got to say that I really didn’t think that the President of the United States would have much bearing on my success or failure in Beckley, West Virginia.”

Hornsby says he was proved wrong during the Obama Administration.

Jessica Lilly
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Henry Hornsby Jr. stands in front of his family business, Henry’s Radiator Shop.

Holding Onto Hope for Small/Family Business

He owns a small business just across from Robert C. Byrd Drive in Beckley. The shop has been around for almost 50 years.

It’s a family business Hornsby inherited from his parents. He spent a lot of time in the shop with his dad and the workers while growing up.

Yeah, he always tried to, you know, treat everybody fair,” Henry Jr. remembered about his father. “He really took a lot of pride in his name, both by business and both just by moral conduct. You know, he told me, he spent 50 years making his name, and instructed me that I can ruin that in a day. And be sure not to do that. And I’ve never forgot that.”

Before his father, Henry Hornsby Sr. passed away in December 2001, his dad diversified the family business and opened a car wash, and some rental properties. Hornsby tries to honor his dad’s legacy by staying in business, working hard, and being fair.

I have one guy that’s been here for 35 years,” Hornsby said as he got choked up. “And so, they’re a little more than just your average employee. I mean, they’re our second family. You know, I know their wives or kids. And when you have to think about them not getting paid. That’s tough.”

Jessica Lilly
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Employees at Henry’s Radiator Shop in Beckley hoist a radiator during the work day.

Henry is especially proud that he has never laid off anyone from the shop. Back in 2010, Henry says business dropped so much under the while Barack Obama was president, that he had to consider layoffs.

Health Care Made Things Tough

When you have to choose between paying the insurance premium, or buying groceries, that’s a pretty tough choice, too,” Henry explained.

On top of this, Henry says new regulations on health care as part of the Affordable Care Act or Obamacare increased the price of insurance. Before the Affordable Care Act was passed, most private insurance rates were based on risk factors such as if someone was a smoker, their age, etc. Now, income is a factor in the cost. While Hornsby says he does believe the Affordable Care Act has helped people, it’s been hard on small businesses and the working class.

It’s just one way that I see the government taking that reward for hard work and trying to make everybody equal,” he said. “I definitely believe in equality, and things like race, sex, all that, you know, but everybody don’t put forth the same effort and I don’t think everybody deserves the same reward without the same effort.”

Hornsby says business has increased since Donald Trump took office and loosened environmental regulations. While that might mean more radiators to hoist in the shop, so far, things are about the same in terms of health care.

“Honestly, right now we’re in pretty much the same boat as we was four years ago with health care,” Hornsby said. “I know it’s tough. It’s hard to make a law that’s good for everybody. There’s always that group that gets crapped on and Obamacare really crapped on small business owners.”

He’s concerned that Joe Biden would just be more of what they saw under former President Obama.

The Hornsby’s aren’t the only ones voting based on health care.

Brianna Wade says it’s her No. 1 issue that’s influenced her vote.

There’s a lot of people in southern West Virginia, that need health care,” Wade said. “And, you know, that may not have proper access to it, especially kids who (are) in between the ages of 18 and 26, who are going to need to be on their parents health care for a little while until they can get established, or get, you know, health care of their own.”

Diversity Across County-Lines

Brianna Wade is a 28-year-old Black woman. She spent her young childhood growing up in Welch, in McDowell County.

If somebody didn’t like you, it wasn’t because of the color of your skin,” she remembered about Welch, “It’s just because of your attitude.”

Courtesy
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Brianna Wade with Former Presidential Candidate in 2016, Bernie Sanders.

She often longs for the community pride and support she found in Welch.

I wish there were more jobs in McDowell County, because I would prefer my kids to grow up down there, kind of like I did,” Wade said, “… playing with their relatives and kids in the neighborhood, that type of thing.”

She moved with her family to Mercer County when she was about 14 or 15 years old.

“I’ve always heard that Mercer County was more racist than McDowell County and I saw that first hand,” Wade explained her experience. “It was also different with the coal camps, because I always learned that with coal camps, everybody’s granddad like or dad worked in the coal mine, so everybody had to have each other’s back. So there was more sense of community and mentality versus Mercer County.”

In neighboring Wyoming County, folks are concerned about health care, too.

It affected our family personally, because my sister had Obamacare and it was so expensive, it was really hard for her to make the payments,” said Terri Smith, a lifelong resident of Mullens. So it helped some of the poor people, but it didn’t always help the working class.”

Jessica Lilly
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Terri Smith is a registered Democrat but will be voting for Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

Health care cost is not the only reason why Smith is voting for Trump. Like Hornsby, for her, part of it comes down to work ethic.

I think you need to work for what you get,” Smith said. “No one’s supposed to hand you anything.”

Smith’s No. 1 one reason why she’s voting for Trump? Border patrol.

I really think that we could allow anyone into our country, but they need to come in legally,” Smith said. “We protect our own homes at night by locking doors and we need to do the same thing for our country.”

Smith also says her emotions pull her to the Republican party based on their stance on abortion.

I don’t believe in abortion,” Smith said. “An innocent child has a right to live.”

Not everyone has made up their minds in the county. Amanda Sesco is a registered Republican but says her views are more Libertarian. Last time, she didn’t vote for Trump, but for Green Party nominee, Jill Stein.

Well, in hindsight, I just feel like I just wasted that vote on the last election,” Sesco said. And I just threw it away.”

Voting Against President Trump

For Kent McBride, a registered Democrat, he knows who he won’t be voting for.

I will not be voting for Donald Trump,” McBride said.

He’s not as worried about the national economy, because he says there are more important things to focus on.

I don’t want my son to grow up in a world, my two sons to grow up in a world that gets worse than it is today,” McBride said. “We’re all going to die one day, and it’s not going to be about how big or a 401k’s you have. It’s going to be about, do you live a life that cares about other people? Do you take care of people around you, and I’m worried that the direction this country is going, we’re going to be no better than the people that we’ve fought for years, because we’re going to become that country with that divide.”

Justice Announces Timeline To Complete Corrections Testing, RNC Unlikely To Come To W.Va.

This story was updated at 3:55 p.m. on June 3, 2020 to include additional comments by Gov. Jim Justice. 

 

All inmates at West Virginia’s correctional facilities are set to be tested for the coronavirus by June 12, Gov. Jim Justice said at a virtual press conference Wednesday morning. 

The system-wide testing comes after an outbreak at the Huttonsville Correctional Center, in Randolph County. As of Monday afternoon, there were 119 prisoners at Huttonsville and eight employees who had tested positive. 

Justice said seven of the employees and 21 inmates have since recovered.

“Everything is moving in the direction that we want it to move,” Justice said. 

He said testing was underway at additional facilities — three regional jails, two prisons and two juvenile centers —  in the state’s two panhandles, with facilities in the Northern Panhandle expected to be fully tested Wednesday. 

There are about 9,300 people incarcerated in state-run prisons and jails.

In the wide-ranging briefing, Justice also announced that beginning on June 10, all state and private park campgrounds would be open to out-of-state guests. The state is asking those guests to stay one week or less.  

Meanwhile, another round of free COVID-19 testing was announced in Grant, Hampshire and Hardy counties for June 13. The testing will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the following EA Hawse Health Center locations:

  • Grant County: 64 Hospital Drive #5, Petersburg

  • Hampshire County: 22338 North Western Turnpike, Romney

  • Hardy County (three locations): 17978 WV 55, Baker; 8 Lee Street #127, Moorefield; and 106 Harold K. Michael Drive, Mathias

The effort is a part of a state-wide initiative to increase testing for minorities and other vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the coronavirus. 

Scott Adkins, acting commissioner of WorkForce West Virginia also provided an update at the news briefing. He said the agency has received 250,000 unemployment claims over the last 10 weeks — five times the number of claims the agency received in all of 2019 He noted that agency officials are still processing about 5 percent of claims. 

National Convention Unlikely

During the press conference, Justice stepped out to take a phone call from President Donald Trump. 

Justice said he recently extended an invitation to Trump and the Republican Party to consider moving the Republican National Conventionfrom North Carolina to West Virginia. The event is scheduled to be held in Charlotte, N.C., in August.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper had expressed concerns about the influx of out-of-town visitors and the ability of a full-scale gathering to adhere to CDC guidelines to protect against the spread of the coronavirus. 

During the Wednesday briefing, Justice characterized his decision to extend the invitation to host the RNC in West Virginia as a way to continue to put the state “on the radar” of the president. 

“The reality is just this: It is such a long-shot, and it is just something that I will continue to do to market West Virginia, he said, adding “… It’s probably not going to become a reality.”

Later in the briefing, Justice said the call with the president was focused mostly on incidents of unrest across the country in response to the killing of unarmed black people by police. Justice praised West Virginia for holding largely peaceful protests and demonstrations. 

He added that he believes his relationship with Trump ultimately benefits West Virignians.

“I wanted him to always know just how welcome he is in West Virginia. And any president, you know,” Justice said. “And we should absolutely welcome all — maybe not Barack Obama — but nevertheless, we’ll welcome any president.” 

 

In a press release sent Wednesday afternoon, Justice said his comments about Obama were “in jest” and related to the Obama administration’s environmental policies.

“Everyone knows that President Obama made it a specific strategy to destroy our coal industry and power plants which, for more than a century, had been the lifeblood of West Virginia’s economy,” Justice stated.

Most industry analysts say low natural gas prices and the continued decline in cost of renewable energy are the main factors driving the decline of coal.

As Trump Orders Meatpackers To Stay Open, Complaints Allege Plant Failed To Protect Workers

This story was updated on Thursday,  April 30, 2020 at 9:00 a.m., to include Gov. Beshear’s comments and information about public health inspections at the JBS facility.

As President Trump ordered meatpacking plants on Tuesday to keep operating amid the coronavirus pandemic, more details are emerging about the concerns workers had about their safety at a facility in Louisville, where dozens of workers were infected and one died. 

The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services reported as of Monday, the state was aware of 220 coronavirus cases at four meatpacking plants, including 34 cases at a JBS Swift plant in Louisville. The cabinet also reported one death — at that Louisville plant. 

Records of complaints filed with the Louisville Metro Public Health Department show that in early April employees were concerned that the company was not doing enough to protect them.

One health department complaint, filed on April 9, stated a worker at the JBS Swift meatpacking plant said a coworker tested positive for the coronavirus. According to the complaint, the company did not inform employees about the positive case, and the plant was not using social distancing for its employees at that time. 

A second complaint, filed on April 13, stated that despite an employee death due to COVID-19, the company was not taking any cleaning measures at the plant. 

According to the complaint, “an employee had a positive test in the plant, and has passed away. Employee worked on the King floor in the plant, stated the company has not taken any measures as far as cleaning or any sanitization of the facility.” 

The complaint continued, “employees are concerned about their safety inside the [building]. Stated after concerns grew inside and working at location in [building], company told employees that if they did not come to work they would be terminated.”

In a statement sent Tuesday to the Ohio Valley ReSource, JBS USA spokesperson Cameron Bruett said that the company is now testing worker temperatures and requiring face masks. He also said no worker is being forced to work or is being punished for absences due to health reasons. The company is also staggering shifts and breaks, deep-cleaning facilities every day, and removing workers vulnerable to the virus from facilities.

Union Request

United Food and Commercial Workers Local 227 represents workers at the JBS Swift plant and several other meatpacking plants in Kentucky, including a Tyson Foods plant in Henderson County closing this week for sanitation after a coronavirus outbreak. 

Union spokesperson Caitlin Blair did not directly comment on the complaints on record with the Louisville health department, but said workers are concerned for their health and safety.

“Yet they continue to show up to work to produce the food that we all need, and we owe them our gratitude for being brave frontline workers who didn’t sign up for this,” Blair said. “And we need to do whatever it takes to protect them and support them.”

In a statement to the Resource, Blair said the union is asking every employer they work with to be transparent with information on positive cases so that workers can make the best decisions for their health. 

“We are working directly with JBS to ensure the company takes action to immediately strengthen protections at this plant to keep these workers safe on the job,” Blair said in the statement. “We’re calling on our federal and state officials to provide increased access to testing for meatpacking workers and a place in line for PPE as it becomes available. The CDC and OSHA recently issued guidelines for meatpacking and poultry plants to keep workers safe. These guidelines shouldn’t be a suggestion. They should be mandatory.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Sunday released optional guidance for meatpacking plants to follow, including asking there be distance between workers, staggering breaks for workers, and reducing the contact workers have with each other in plants and during ride-sharing to and from the workplace.

During Tuesday’s edition of WFPL’s “In Conversation,” host Rick Howlett asked Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer how the city was monitoring COVID-19 cases at the JBS Swift plant.

“We have a team of folks that visit employers and other groups to make sure proper protocols are in place, and if not you get corrective action with that. These meatpacking plants all around the country obviously have been a very significant challenge, some with hundreds and hundreds of infections in their plants,” Fischer said. “So, the nature of that work is people are working very closely together, which of course is a problem. That’s why we want the 6-foot distancing. So, yes, we are working with JBS to make sure that they have all the best protocols they can have in place for their business, which is defined as an essential business.”

Health Inspection

Louisville Metro Public Health Department has the authority to perform unannounced inspections of workplaces and remove individuals with COVID-19 symptoms from the workplace. Department spokesperson Dave Langdon said inspectors performed two inspections at the plant in April: one on April 13 — the same day the department received the complaint that alleged a worker with coronavirus died — and a second inspection on April 21.

According to investigation notes, inspectors during the April 13 inspection found several precautions to prevent virus spread were already in place, including temperature scanning for employees, protective equipment and sanitizing materials. 

However, inspectors at that time still recommended that more social distancing needed to be practiced, and workers who were cutting, rendering, and packaging meat products still lacked proper barriers. The inspectors also requested soap and paper towels be made available on production floors for workers.

“Still need barriers placed between individual workstations. These are small compact areas where it is difficult to practice 6 feet of social distancing,” the report states. “Ensure all hand sinks in the facility and on the production, floors are stocked with soap and disposable paper towels.”

Ultimately, the inspectors on April 13 ordered plant management to ensure more social distancing, add barriers, and follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance.

During the subsequent April 21 inspection, inspectors still noticed failures to social distance at the plant.

“During lunch time, observed employees standing in close proximity (less than 6 feet apart) at the hot holding station. Observed Liberty Food Service employees improperly washing hands. Instructed Food Service Manager to ensure employees use a barrier to turn off the hand sink. Plant Operator said he would request maintenance to install foot pedals on the cafeteria hand sinks,” the report states.

Inspectors also noted that the plant was following CDC guidance issued on April 20, which allowed for workers who tested positive for the virus who were asymptomatic for seven days to return to work. The guidance also allowed for close contacts to those who tested positive after, but were asymptomatic for seven days, to return to work.

Inspectors “strongly recommended” that those with COVID-19 and close contacts of those individuals be removed from work for 14 days, not seven days.

The inspectors also recommended that more barriers be installed in the plant cafeteria, better face mask use be encouraged as many employees were “observed pulling down their masks, so that noses were exposed.” Inspectors said health department exposure advisories should be handed out to employees who had close contact with coworkers positive with the coronavirus.

Presidential Order

Ohio Valley worker safety advocates in recent weeks have raised concerns about the spread of coronavirus in meatpacking plants because of the tight quarters workers operate in and the high levels of interaction workers have with each other. These plants may now have to stay open, with President Donald Trump signing an executive order Tuesday to keep plants operating. Trump said he is also working on a plan “to solve any liability problems” for meatpacking companies.

Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles praised the executive order in a release, pointing to potential financial impacts that livestock farmers could see from shuttered meatpacking plants.

“We’ve already seen how temporary plant shutdowns in other states can have a major ripple effect on our way of life: a decline in livestock and poultry prices, and rumors of protein shortages in grocery stores,” Quarles said in a statement. “President Trump’s decision will help reduce disruption in our food supply chain and better help protect workers.”

The UFCW urged President Trump in a release Tuesday to enact enforceable coronavirus safety standards for meatpacking companies to follow if plants were to remain open. 

Democratic Representative Bobby Scott of Virginia, the chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, called Trump’s executive order “disturbing” if no mandated safety standards are required in meatpacking plants.

“There is clear evidence that without proper protections from COVID-19, workers in meat processing plants and other workplaces will continue to fall ill and die from this disease,” Scott said in a statement. “The administration would better reflect the best of America’s values if it used the [Defense Production Act] to mandate the production and distribution of personal protective equipment, while issuing an emergency workplace safety standard to protect workers from COVID-19.”

Worker safety advocates have said the lack of an enforceable safety standard among meatpacking plants could lead to some plants not offering enough protection. 

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said during a Wednesday press conference that despite Trump’s order, it’s important for meatpacking plants to follow health guidelines and regulations, or risk putting their workers in harm’s way.

“If you know you got a problem and you’re unwilling to pause to fix it, you’re going to have a bigger problem going forward,” Beshear said. “It’s the same as any of these regulations that we’re talking about that if we don’t follow them and do what it takes to lessen the spread, then you end up with a worse result.”

 

Amina Elahi, Rick Howlett and Laura Ellis of WFPL, and Jeff Young of the ReSource contributed reporting. This story may be updated.

Young Adults, Students Feeling ‘Forgotten’ In Stimulus Plan

Beginning this month, Americans will see financial relief checks from the federal government’s $2 trillion stimulus plan flow into their bank accounts to assist them during the COVID-19 outbreak.

But many college students and recent graduates were disappointed to find out they will not receive $1,200 from the government, even if they were affected by the pandemic.

“I was working two jobs on a campaign and a delivery job, and both of those have evaporated as this all started,” said Collin Clemons, a December 2019 graduate of Marshall University with a political science degree. “I was like, ‘OK, this check will come through and kind of keep me afloat for a month or so,’ so I’m really disappointed to find out that I won’t get it. We’ve been kind of forgotten, underrepresented.”

The stimulus bill will provide $1,200 for most adults, with an additional $500 per child — age 16 or under — leaving adults who have been claimed by their parents on their 2018 or 2019 tax filings out of the relief package.

“I live in a house with roommates. I don’t live with my family,” Clemons said. “We’re one of the most disadvantaged populations in the country as far as finances go. College students are already pretty much broke from paying for college. It doesn’t really help that we’re in the middle of a global pandemic and not receiving any help from the government whatsoever.”

Many students who are still in the process of completing their degree are being forced to leave campus and move back in with their parents or loved ones to stop the spread of the coronavirus, which also creates a disadvantage to those families, said Rileigh Smirl, a second-year political science and English double major at Marshall.

“I am pretty independent, self-sufficient. I make my own money,” Smirl said. “But I was under that cutoff for getting money from the stimulus package. I am moved back in with my parents, because we weren’t able to be on campus, and I feel like I’m in this in-between area where I’m not young enough to be beneficial to my parents but I’m not old enough to be counted as an independent adult even though I am 95% of the year.”

Smirl works primarily as a podcaster, and ad revenue and fundraisers have suffered because of the virus, she said.

Now, she’s relying on her parents for help, although they’re not receiving any additional relief.

“I’m definitely lucky in the sense that I am mid-college so I’m not entirely out on my own yet, but it still would have been nice for my parents or myself to get that help,” she said. “Even if we didn’t receive money, just some money that our parents could have gotten if they’re still counting us as a dependent would make me feel better.”

Bailey Whanger, a Marshall student graduating in May, said although her parents have also agreed to help her financially during this time as her retail and teaching assistant jobs have fallen through, many people won’t have that luxury.

“I’m fortunate that my parents are able to help me, and I’ve saved money to get me through the next few months,” Whanger said. “But I know it won’t be like that for everyone, especially if this continues.”

A petition circulating on social media to “close the doughnut hole for young adults” was formed by the Students Can’t Wait group, a branch of the West Virginia Can’t Wait movement that supports 93 candidates for office in 2020.

“Under this stimulus package, thousands of West Virginia young adults, many of whom are trying to work their way through college, will be left out. Many of these students are already doing everything they can to juggle employment, health bills and the costs of higher education,” the online petition said. “We, the undersigned, believe the federal coronavirus stimulus package must not discriminate against young adults.”

Clemons said he agreed that something needs to change in order to assist students, recent graduates and those who are just starting out on their own, alike.

“The federal government should really amend that bill that passed or pass a new bill that is targeted toward college students and recent graduates, recently as in, maybe, the last two years,” he said. “Just providing a stimulus check to them as well — it doesn’t have to be the $1,200. Maybe it’s $800, $1,000, just something rather than nothing.”

Trump Criticizes West Virginia's Manchin On Impeachment Votes

President Donald Trump on Friday criticized Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia for voting guilty on two articles of impeachment, aiming to weaken the senator’s political standing in a state Trump carried by a whopping 42 percentage points in 2016.

Trump tweeted that he was “very surprised & disappointed” with Manchin’s votes. He claimed no president has done more for the state.

Trump asserted in a subsequent tweet that Manchin was “just a puppet” for the Democratic leaders in the House and Senate.

“That’s all he is!” Trump tweeted.

Manchin said in announcing his decision on the impeachment vote Wednesday that the evidence presented by House managers clearly supported the charges brought against the president.

 
“I take no pleasure in these votes, and am saddened this is the legacy we leave our children and grandchildren,” Manchin said. “I have always wanted this president, and every president, to succeed, but I deeply love our country and must do what I think is best for the nation.”

Manchin’s office didn’t immediately comment Friday evening. 

In West Virginia, the Republican leader of the state Senate said “there’s just a general sense of shock”after Manchin’s vote. 

“You cannot walk this back,” said Senate President Mitch Carmichael. “I think he yielded to the pressure of the national Democrats to stay united on this issue with the Washington liberal establishment.” 

Manchin remained publicly undecided on impeachment until essentially the last minute, saying he wanted to get all the evidence he could before casting his vote. He stirred speculation about his intentions when he floated the idea of censuring the president, though the move didn’t gain much traction, and again when he said that Hunter Biden would be a relevant witness in the trial. 

West Virginia Sen. Roman Prezioso, the Democratic minority leader of the state Senate, said it’s often hard to know where Manchin is going to come down on an issue.

“Anyone who knows him knows he’s not a puppet,” Prezioso said. “He’s an independent voice, he’ll make a decision predicated on the facts.”

Manchin is serving his second term as a U.S. senator, and has also served as the state’s governor. He and Trump appeared to have a warmer relationship than the president has with most Democratic lawmakers. Trump invited him to the White House in August when the president presented former basketball player Bob Cousy with the Medal of Freedom. A month later, Manchin was again at the White House when Trump presented the Medal of Freedom to another former basketball great, Jerry West.

Republicans have gained the upper hand in West Virginia in recent decades. But the moderate Manchin won a second full term to the Senate in the 2018 elections in a tight race against a Trump-backed challenger.

U.S. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a West Virginia Republican who voted against impeachment, told Fox News on Thursday that people in the state are “rather mystified” by Manchin’s vote. 

“I just feel that probably Senator Schumer just pulled the noose a little tight and said ‘come on, everybody, we’re going to jump off this cliff together,’ and back here, West Virginians, they’re very surprised,” she said.

Trump-Friendly Manchin Votes To Convict President As Articles Of Impeachment Fail

West Virginia U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, often seen as one of the most moderate and Trump-friendly Democrats in the Senate, voted Wednesday along party lines to convict President Donald Trump on both Articles of Impeachment. 

While the 67-vote threshold for convicting the president was viewed as nearly insurmountable with Republicans holding a 53 seat majority in the Senate, Manchin remained undecided about how he would vote until Wednesday. 

In the end, though, Trump was acquitted on both Articles of Impeachment. The first, which charged him with abusing the power of his office, failed on a 48-52 vote. The second article, charging Trump of obstructing Congress by blocking White House officials from responding to House subpoenas, was downed 47-53.

West Virginia’s senior senator has supported Trump in other controversial votes, including the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in October 2018. Manchin was re-elected to another six-year term in November 2018.

The president remains favorable in West Virginia — where he won the state by more than 40 percentage points in 2016. 

But Wednesday, Manchin said in a statement that the evidence brought forth by House managers “clearly supports the charges brought against the President.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaizpSI02pk

He condemned Republicans for blocking additional witnesses during the impeachment trial. Manchin also took issue with the president taking “executive privilege” in blocking testimony from White House officials who were subpoenaed by House Democrats. 

“Voting whether or not to remove a sitting President has been a truly difficult decision, and after listening to the arguments presented by both sides, I have reached my conclusion reluctantly,” Manchin said. “I take no pleasure in these votes, and am saddened this is the legacy we leave our children and grandchildren. I have always wanted this President, and every President to succeed, but I deeply love our country and must do what I think is best for the nation.”

On Monday, Manchin proposed publicly condemning Trump’s actions toward Ukraine through a censure resolution. At the time, Manchin said he was unsure of how he would vote on the Articles of Impeachment. 

Belinda Biafore, who serves as chairwoman of the West Virginia Democratic Party, applauded Manchin’s votes to convict Trump on the Articles of Impeachment. 

“We proudly stand with U.S. Senator Joe Manchin in defending our nation, the Constitution, and all that we stand for as Americans,” Biafore said in a Wednesday statement. “No one is above the law and that includes President Donald Trump.”

U.S Senator Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., voted to acquit the president on both Articles of Impeachment. 

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