Ainsworth dismisses questions of ‘rift’ between him and Ivey — ‘The governor and I are getting along great’

Last month, a memo from Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth to Alabama’s coronavirus task force critical of the state’s response to date had raised eyebrows and led to questions about his relationship with Gov. Kay Ivey.

A few days later, during a media availability, Ivey pushed back against Ainsworth’s criticisms by saying it was “not helpful” to raise issues without offering solutions.  The had led some to speculate there was tension between the Governor and Lieutenant Governor.

However, during an appearance on Alabama Public Television’s “Capitol Journal” on Friday, Ainsworth denied that to be the case and argued raising his concerns as he had was justified.

“My concern is simple,” he said. “I serve on the task force, along with other members I represent the state. I think it is my job on the task force to call something out if I didn’t see adequate preparation or needs being met. That’s what I did. I felt that this was probably the most serious thing we’ve faced in my lifetime, and probably most people’s lifetime. I think my concern was the preparation and the plans in place were not adequate. I feel confident now. I think certainly the task force is addressing those, and happy to see that happen.”

“[I] was just bringing awareness to an issue that I thought we were deficient and didn’t have a plan on, and it needed to be addressed, and we also need to take this seriously,” Ainsworth added. “You remember before this, you know, I basically sent out a call-to-action video to the state saying we’re not taking this serious enough, and when you look at the data and the exponential growth and where the numbers were going, it was clear to me every health care professional that I talked to said the same thing: This is going to grow, we’ve got to put measures in place to stop the growth, and people are not taking this serious enough. And so, I felt it was my job on that task force to bring to light the fact, and it was fact because data and science backed up the fact that every scientist, every doctor was saying tuned out to be true.”

“Capitol Journal” host Don Dailey asked Ainsworth about his relationship with Ivey, to which Ivey said it was “great,” and there was “no rift.”

“The governor and I are getting along great,” Ainsworth said. “There’s no rift. We’re in this together. You know, all I did was point out something that I thought was just one thing. I mean, she’s done a lot of great things on this. It’s just that one particular area I saw something, and I wanted to make sure our task force was taking this serious. Governor Ivey and I are great. Our offices talk every day and will continue to work hard for the people of Alabama.”

@Jeff_Poor is a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Alabama, the editor of Breitbart TV, a columnist for Mobile’s Lagniappe Weekly and host of Huntsville’s “The Jeff Poor Show” from 2-5 p.m. on WVNN.