West Virginia Governor Jim Justice hadn’t finished the first sentence of his remarks at the Republican National Convention (RNC) on Tuesday when the crowd at the FiServ Forum erupted, chanting a single word over and over: “Babydog, Babydog, Babydog.”
The attendees were eagerly demanding the presence of an unlikely political icon, Justice’s beloved English bulldog. Anticipating the crowd’s enthusiasm, Justice called for an aide to bring Babydog to the stage, calming the audience by acknowledging their desire to meet his “little buddy.”
Governor Jim Justice and Baby Dog pic.twitter.com/QB6n0zeOIl
— Karli Bonne’ 🇺🇸 (@KarluskaP) July 16, 2024
Babydog waddled onto the stage to loud applause before settling into a large leather chair next to Justice. The governor, who is the frontrunner to succeed retiring West Virginia senator Joe Manchin, shared, “She makes us smile, and she loves everybody.” He then continued his speech, urging for the re-election of Donald Trump, whom he described as “an incredible man” who “genuinely cares about all of us.”
Although Babydog remained silent during Justice’s speech, the governor humorously claimed she had a prediction about the upcoming November general election. “Babydog says we’ll retain the majority in the House, flip the Senate, and overwhelmingly elect Donald J. Trump and JD Vance in November,” he said.
Babydog first rose to public attention when Justice made her the face of his campaign to encourage West Virginians to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Since then, she has been a regular presence at his news conferences and even made headlines when Justice challenged actress Bette Midler to kiss the bulldog’s posterior after she criticized state residents.
Babydog’s popularity at the RNC highlights the unique and endearing ways politicians connect with their constituents, blending light-hearted moments with serious political discourse.