Virginia Politics

Trump hints at potential Arlington visit for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin

By Karina Elwood and Laura Vozzella
Yesterday at 7:41 p.m. EDT | Updated yesterday at 9:50 p.m. EDT

Former president Donald Trump on Wednesday teased the idea of making an appearance in Arlington on behalf of Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin, stirring all sides of Virginia politics during the final days of the race.

“Chanting, ‘We love Trump!’ in Arlington, Va. Thank you, Arlington, see you soon!" Trump said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon, a day after President Biden campaigned for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe in the blue county.

Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich tweeted shortly after that the “MAGA movement will be delivering a major victory to Trump-endorsed businessman” Youngkin, and Trump looked forward to visiting Virginia, with further details to be released “when appropriate.” ... Another Trump spokesman did not answer questions about the message.

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Trump is not expected to travel to Virginia before Election Day, according to two people familiar with his plans. ... The statement came after Biden made his second McAuliffe campaign appearance of the year, where he and McAuliffe aimed to tie Youngkin to Trump, who lost Virginia by 10 points in the 2020 election.

Shortly after Biden began speaking Tuesday night, protesters interrupted the president but were quickly drowned out by chants of “We love Joe!” ... “It’s not a Trump rally. We let them holler,” Biden responded, as a few individuals were walked out by security.

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Teo Armus, Josh Dawsey and Michael Scherer contributed to this report.

By Karina Elwood
Karina Elwood is an intern covering local politics and government on the Metro desk. Twitter https://twitter.com/karina_elwood

By Laura Vozzella
Laura Vozzella covers Virginia politics for The Washington Post. Before joining The Post, she was a political columnist and food writer at the Baltimore Sun, and she has also worked for the Associated Press, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and the Hartford Courant. Twitter https://twitter.com/LVozzella