Gov. Matt Bevin trolls Democrats at Kentucky State Fair in President Trump jacket

Kentucky's GOP governor, Matt Bevin, is at it again.

He paid a visit to the Kentucky Democrats' booth at the state fair in Louisville on Saturday clad in a bright blue jacket decorated with many large images of President Donald Trump's face.

The gesture was soon all over social media as people called the move "trolling" and meme-worthy captions abounded.

Kentucky Democrats booth attendees haven't returned Courier Journal messages requesting comment on Bevin's visit. Some did, however, take to social media to say he talked policy with them and the conversations were productive.

Davis Paine, Bevin's campaign manager, posted photos from the visit on Twitter and wrote, "Great discussion about policy and how we can keep KY moving forward. Many comments from folks working the booth about how they plan to use these pics to shame @AndyBeshearKY into visiting them."

The Kenton County Democrats, however, shared a photo of Bevin at the booth on Facebook Monday and wrote, "Oh yes, he was there to troll, because he bragged about it." Kenton County is directly south of Cincinnati, just across the state line with Ohio.

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Hannah Drake, a Louisville author and spoken word artist, tweeted about Bevin's visit Sunday and called his bid for re-election as Kentucky's governor "pathetic."

"He thought getting a Trump suit jacket was a smart idea," Drake wrote. "Now you understand why he has failed as a leader of this state."

Bevin has used similar tactics before.

Over the weekend at the Lincoln Dinner, he read a poem about Andy Beshear, his Democratic opponent in the governor's race, to cheers from the crowd.

"There once was a fellow named Andy," Bevin cited. "With financial facts not so handy. Has no actual plan but to keep kicking the can, chewing up taxpayer funds like they're candy."

And, when he was running for governor in September 2015, he paid the Kentucky Democratic party a visit at its Frankfort headquarters to complain about a sign that said, "You still can't trust Matt Bevin."

A party spokesperson said at the time that Bevin yelled at the receptionist over the sign, but Bevin's campaign denied that claim.

That same month, he recorded a campaign video with a Democratic sign in view behind him in Frankfort.

In the pun-filled video in which he jokes that no life is present in the state capital thanks to liberal politicians, Bevin thanked Kentucky Democrats for featuring his name on their sign.

"I'm grateful for the fact that I'm getting this PR from the Democrat Party," Bevin said. "They apparently don't think well enough of their own candidate to tell you anything about him."

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Bevin's opponent then was Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway, who lost to Bevin by a margin of 52.5% to 43.8%.

Trolling opponents, mostly Democrats, is also a familiar Trump tactic.

In 2017, the president tweeted a book recommendation: "Reasons to vote for Democrats." It was published by The Daily Wire and was 260 blank pages.

Also in 2017, CNN called Trump "the best troll in all of politics," referencing his "Pocahontas" nickname for Sen. Elizabeth Warren and his "Crooked Hillary" remarks.

"When Trump has the chance to return to his natural state as troll-in-chief, he takes it," CNN's Chris Cillizza wrote. "He loves the barbs, the reaction, the aftermath. It's what makes him go at some level, what he truly enjoys about politics. It's also when he is at his best, the closest representation of the person 60+ million people voted for – a brash, unapologetic pot-stirrer who doesn't care what anyone thinks of him."

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Reach breaking news reporter Sarah Ladd at sladd@courier-journal.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ladd_sarah. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/subscribe.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Matt Bevin trolls Democrats at Kentucky State Fair in Trump jacket