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- Virginia GOP gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin has attempted to distance himself from Donald Trump.
- The Democratic National Committee has mocked Trump about this by flying a plane with a banner near Mar-a-Lago.
- The Virginia governor race between Youngkin and Terry McAuliffe is currently neck-in-neck.
Democrats have been mocking Donald Trump over gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin’s attempts to distance himself from the former president.
Republican Glenn Youngkin is currently running for governor in Virginia against former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe, who held the position from 2014-2018.
Although Trump has endorsed Youngkin and called him a “great gentleman,” the Republican candidate has subtly tried to disassociate himself from the former president.
The Democratic National Committee flew a plane near Trump’s Florida resort Mar-a-Lago, carrying a banner that read, “why won’t Youngkin let Trump campaign in VA?”
-DNC War Room (@DNCWarRoom) October 16, 2021
They also erected a billboard in Florida to highlight the former president’s endorsement of Youngkin, believing that associating him with Trump will damage his chances in the November 2 election.
On Thursday, Youngkin criticized attendees of a recent GOP “Take Back Virginia” rally who pledged allegiance to a flag that was said to have been flown on January 6 near the Capitol.
“It is weird and wrong to pledge allegiance to a flag connected to January 6,” Youngkin said. “As I have said many times before, the violence that occurred on January 6 was sickening and wrong.”
Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon appeared at the rally and Donald Trump called in on a phone line.
Trump endorsed Youngkin on the call and said, “We’ve got to get him in. I know Terry McAuliffe very well and he was a lousy governor.”
On Thursday, Youngkin avoided answering questions about whether he wanted Trump to campaign for him.
“Anybody who calls me a good man, I so appreciate it, including President Trump,” he eventually replied, according to The Hill.
The Republican candidate has also previously acknowledged Joe Biden’s presidential victory in 2020, putting him at odds with Donald Trump and his allies, who continue to make baseless claims about the election being fraudulent.
Youngkin’s decision to distance himself from Trump is likely because of the former president’s unpopularity in the state.
Democrats had growing success in Virginia during the Trump presidency. In the 2017 governor race, Democratic Ralph Northam defeated the Republican nominee by the largest margin for a Democrat since 1985.
The party then took full control of the state legislature in 2019, and Joe Biden won the state with a solid margin in the 2020 presidential election.
Youngkin is likely aware that the associations with Trump will not help his chances of winning the race, which according to recent polls, is currently neck-in-neck.
Glenn Youngkin, a former private equity executive and first-time political candidate, has been able to unite the party’s business class and its dominant Trump wing, Insider’s John L. Dorman recently reported.
Youngkin’s approach, along with Biden’s sagging ratings, has made the Virginia election very competitive.
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