Trump Has Election Eve Tele-Rally for Youngkin Without Candidate
Trump Has Election Eve Tele-Rally for Youngkin Without Candidate
(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trump held a tele-rally for Republican Glenn Youngkin on the eve of the Virginia governor’s race without the candidate, who has been walking a fine line between accepting the endorsements of the former president and not fully embracing him.
Trump held a 10-minute call with former White House Senior Adviser Mercedes Schlapp urging his supporters to vote for Youngkin on Tuesday, saying “our relationship is great” and “this is your chance to break the grip the radical left has over the commonwealth.”
Terry McAuliffe, Youngkin’s Democratic opponent and a former governor of the state, has sought throughout the campaign to tether him to Trump. As polls tightened, McAuliffe brought in Democratic stars including President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris to reinvigorate his party’s base.
Democrats had been trying to goad the former president into campaigning for the Republican candidate to reinforce the connection.
Trump, who has endorsed Youngkin multiple times -- including again with statements on Monday -- decided to do the tele-rally after teasing the possibility that he would campaign in Virginia before the election.
Trump also called in to a pro-Youngkin rally last month in which the audience recited the Pledge of Allegiance to a flag said to have been from the Jan. 6 riot.
Youngkin, who was not involved in the planning of that event and did not attend, condemned the rally pledge as “weird and wrong.”
The former president also held a tele-rally on Monday night for Mike Carey, a Republican and his endorsed candidate in a special election in Ohio to replace retired Representative Steve Stivers. Former Vice President Mike Pence also campaigned for Carey on Sunday.
Biden endorsed Democrat Allison Russo on Monday.
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