President Donald Trump fired off some early morning Tweets Thursday about Virginia’s race for Governor, chiming in with support for Republican Ed Gillespie.
President Trump wrote on Twitter: “ Ed Gillespie will be a great Governor of Virginia.” He accused Democrat Ralph Northam of not showing up for meetings and being weak on crime.
In a second message, the President said Gillespie might save our “great statues/heritage” and turn the “really bad Virginia economy #’s around.”
Governor Terry McAuliffe promptly fired back, citing the state’s unemployment numbers.
Virginia unemployment is 3.7%. National unemployment is 4.2%. Stop tweeting and get to work. https://t.co/8q31PZ7FCf
— Terry McAuliffe (@TerryMcAuliffe) October 26, 2017
Democrat Ralph Northam also responded.
I served 8 years in the Army, took care of sick kids, and am running to build a more inclusive Virginia. Don't talk to me about showing up. https://t.co/jzDx9bS6mh
— Ralph Northam (@RalphNortham) October 26, 2017
Trump first endorsed the Republican via Twitter earlier this month. Gillespie told reporters the following day he was confused why it was newsworthy. This time around, Gillespie retweeted both of Trump’s messages.
Trump’s messages on Gillespie have covered topics like Confederate monuments, sanctuary cities, the MS-13 gang, and rural voters -- closely mirroring the issues featured in ads the Gillespie campaign has been running.
In a rally supporting Democrat Ralph Northam earlier this month, President Barack Obama admitted to having seen the ads himself.
“I tend not to watch a lot of TV even though I have a little more time on my hands,” Obama said to the audience in Richmond. “Michelle and I get the same commercials in DC as y’all do here.”
“You’ve got the advertisement and there’s some voice, ominous and everything’s kind of dark, just letting you know that somebody’s coming to get you,” he said. “We’ve seen it before and it’s a tactic by the way that shows Ralph’s opponent doesn’t really think very highly of Virginians, because I don’t think anybody really thinks that somebody who spent his life performing surgery on soldiers and children suddenly is cozying up to street gangs.”
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
