(AP) — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice on Wednesday said he would welcome any president to the state besides former President Barack Obama.

(F. Brian Ferguson/Charleston Gazette-Mail via AP, File)

The unprompted comment came during a coronavirus news conference in which the Republican governor took a phone call from President Donald Trump and sought to highlight his relationship with the commander-in-chief ahead of the coming primary election.

His office later walked back the remarks in a statement, saying they were “in jest” and “in regard to the effect that the Obama Administration’s War on Coal had on the West Virginia economy from 2008-2016.”

“I want to love everybody, and by that, I mean everybody, including President Obama,” Justice said in the statement.

They also came as days of protests over police brutality on African Americans have gripped cities across the nation, renewing attention on racism in the U.S.

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Earlier this year, Justice, a billionaire coal and agricultural businessman without previous political experience, faced scrutiny after calling a mostly black high school girls basketball team “a bunch of thugs.”