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President Donald Trump maintains he’s steering clear of Virginia politics, but his in-flight remarks about Winsome Earle-Sears are prompting questions about whether he’s backing her after all.
The president has issued a full-throated endorsement for Attorney General Jason Miyares’ reelection bid but has stopped short of doing so for Earle-Sears or lieutenant governor nominee John Reid.
He has notably endorsed New Jersey Republican gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli as a “winner” with a “complete and total endorsement” – and that “after getting to know and understand MAGA, [Ciattarelli] has gone all-in.”
At a White House event in which he hosted outgoing Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Trump wished him “good luck with the upcoming election” and said the fellow former business executive has been “working very hard” for the candidates.
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Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears, left; President Trump, right. (Al Drago/Getty Images; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
“He wants to see that young woman win,” Trump said of Youngkin, appearing to refer to Earle-Sears.
“And the attorney general who I endorsed.”
After the Jay Jones murder-texts scandal broke, Trump called on the Norfolk Democrat to drop out “immediately” and said Virginia must “continue to have a GREAT (sic) attorney general in Jason Miyares who by the way has my complete and total endorsement.”
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“Jason will never let you down,” Trump said.
When asked in June about appealing to moderate voters while running in Trump’s party, Reid told Hampton Roads’ ABC affiliate that he is running his own race.
“Donald Trump’s in D.C. John Reid’s in Richmond, and I’m looking to help Virginia, and so, if you love Donald Trump, awesome. If you hate Donald Trump, I really don’t intend to argue with you. I want to save Virginia and that’s why I’m running,” Reid said.
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This week, Trump again obliquely complimented Earle-Sears while speaking to reporters on Air Force One – but declined again to issue a Miyares-type “total endorsement.”
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“I haven’t been too much involved in Virginia — I love the state; I did very well in the state … I think the Republican candidate is very good, and she should win because the Democrat candidate is a disaster,” he said.
He warned that both Spanberger and Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J. – the Democratic nominee in the Garden State – will preeminently be bad for the current U.S. energy dominance agenda.
“Both the Democrats are going to drive the energy prices through the roof,” he said.
Trump also faulted Spanberger for refusing to directly call for Jones’ ouster.
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Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for clarity on whether Trump’s comments thus far have equated to an endorsement or whether he plans to offer one in the closing days, but did not receive a response.
When reached as well, the Republican National Committee indicated they were not at liberty to discuss the presidential prerogative in endorsements.
Earle-Sears, however, said she looks forward to working with Trump as governor to continue Republican policies focused on public safety, energy costs to Virginians and conservative values – and that Trump has indeed been supportive of her bid.
“I am deeply grateful for President Trump’s support and his direct encouragement to voters in Virginia to vote Republican,” she said.
“We must ensure Virginia is the best place to live, work and raise a family and, with President Trump, I’ll fight to keep energy costs low, keep our families safe and defend our commonsense values.”
Sources have pointed to Youngkin’s own success brought on by keeping Trump at arm’s length during his own hard-fought campaign against Terry McAuliffe in a closely-divided state.
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Youngkin’s messaging in predominantly Democratic northern Virginia and the I-95 corridor focused on issues like biological males in girls sports and parents’ rights that could and did draw crossover votes from Virginia voters not inclined to support someone associated with Trump.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the state, Youngkin campaigned on broader conservative or Trumpian tenets and successfully ran up the score in friendlier southside and southwest Virginia, where turnout in those less-populated counties was elevated.
