Former President Donald J. Trump warned Virginia Republicans that the “Make America Great Again” movement was not going away and that candidates for Virginia’s statewide offices needed to demonstrate more commitment to Trump voters — or face defeat in November.
From the Richmond Times-Dispatch:
Trump said Thursday in an interview with conservative radio host John Fredericks, a former top Virginia campaign official for Trump, that he thinks Youngkin can win, but he issued a caveat.
After again raising unfounded doubts about the integrity of Virginia’s elections, Trump said: “The only guys that win are the guys that embrace the MAGA movement.”
He added: “When they try and go down a railroad track: You know, ‘Hey, oh yeah, sure, love it, love it. Oh yeah, love Trump, love Trump, OK, let’s go, next subject,’ When they do that … they never win. They never win. They have to embrace it.
The Youngkin campaign did not issue a comment Thursday night.
Trump later applauded Youngkin after the University of Mary Washington issued a poll showing Youngkin leading by five points among likely voters, but issued a caveat and a warning of sorts by referring to “Crooked Hillary” and attempts to steal the election by Virginia Democrats.
Youngkin has stated previously that he does not believe the 2020 election to have been stolen. Youngkin to date has successfully piloted the shoals between applauding Trump to the Republican base while looking to avoid the harder questions in the Virginia suburbs.
Early voting in Virginia began on September 17th and will continue until Election Day on Tuesday, November 2nd.