Jay Webber is proud to say he has Donald Trump on his side.

That was three years ago, but it’s not something a Republican is going to forget.

A recent Webber campaign piece in the highly-contested, four-person, LD-26 Republican Assembly primary boasts of him getting “high praise” from Trump.

Here’s what Trump had to say about Webber:

“He is outstanding in every way. Strong on borders, loves our military and our vets. Big crime fighter.”

High praise indeed.

Of course, then-President Trump said it in 2018 when Webber was running – unsuccessfully as it turned out – for Congress in CD-11.

One tip-off could be the line about “strong on borders.” Unless Pennsylvania gets frisky, borders are not really a concern for the state.

Webber said in a phone conversation today that the piece does have a reference to the fact Trump made the comments in 2018.

But he said the then-president’s comments were relevant in 2018 and are just as relevant today.

For those not keeping score, Webber has teamed up with newcomer Christian Barranco in a mostly Morris County district that also includes parts of Essex and Passaic counties.

BettyLou DeCroce, the other incumbent, is also in the race, as is Morris County Commissioner Tom Mastrangelo.

Mastrangelo has referenced not Trump, but arguably a more revered GOP figure, Ronald Reagan, in asking his fellow candidates to adhere to the Gipper’s so-called 11th Commandment and not attack each other.

Nice try, but no one is listening to Mastrangelo, or Reagan.

A recent campaign piece, in fact, attacks Mastrangelo for increasing taxes as a freeholder. In fairness, the charge is both predictable and
misleading.

Whether it’s the school board, town council, or now county commissioners, spending just about always increases from year to year, primarily because of such unavoidable costs as contracted salaries and
utilities.

But as we learn all the time, a campaign is not about the small details.