Glenn Youngkin, the Republican nominee for Virginia governor, said at an event on Saturday that he was “so appreciative” to have gotten support from former President Donald Trump.
At the same event, Youngkin referred to former President Barack Obama, first lady Jill Biden, and former Democratic nominee for governor of Georgia Stacey Abrams as “crazy people who have nothing to do with Virginia.”
At a campaign event in Burke, Virginia, on Oct. 16, an attendee asked Youngkin whether he still supports Trump.
Youngkin responded:
Yeah, he knows how I feel. He knows that I am a Virginia First guy, he knows that about me. He’s been good, he endorsed me right out of the box. And I said, “I’m so appreciative.”
So, at the end of the day, this race is my race. What’s happening is I’m running for Virginians and my opponent, Terry McAuliffe, is trying to bring all these people from out of Virginia. And you know, what you see right now is he’s bringing in Jill Biden and Barack Obama and Stacey Abrams, and all these crazy people who have nothing to do with Virginia. And I’m running for Virginians.
The conversation was captured by the Undercurrent, a political web show created by Lauren Windsor, who leads the liberal advocacy group American Family Voices.
The Undercurrent has produced several secretly recorded videos and “man on the street” interviews with elected officials and political candidates. The Undercurrent shared the video of Youngkin exclusively with the American Independent Foundation.
A Youngkin spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
McAuliffe, the former Democratic Virginia governor, has received support from prominent Democrats in Virginia as well as from national figures, including Obama and Biden.
But Youngkin has also relied on out-of-state help from key Republican figures.
In May, Youngkin hosted Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas at a series of campaign events in Bedford, Chesapeake, Chesterfield, Danville, Lynchburg, Salem, and Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Last week, Youngkin publicly thanked a Trump surrogate for organizing a rally for his campaign featuring former Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon and a phone appearance by Trump himself. Youngkin did not attend the rally.
Attendees at the event recited the Pledge of Allegiance to a flag that had purportedly been “carried” at the Jan. 6 “Stop the Steal” rally that preceded the riot at the U.S. Capitol building.
Youngkin later said it was “weird and wrong” for his supporters to honor the Jan. 6 attack at his rally, but did not denounce the event outright.
Throughout his campaign, Youngkin has attempted to downplay and hide his more extreme viewpoints, while also trying to appeal to the pro-Trump GOP base.
At a Sept. 28 debate, Youngkin tried to dodge a question about whether he would support a 2024 Trump candidacy. “If he’s the nominee, I’ll support him,” he eventually said.
At a Sept. 23 campaign event, Youngkin said that if elected, he could “remove” Virginia’s COVID-19 mandates for state employees “on day one.”
In June, the Undercurrent captured footage of Youngkin saying he “can’t” discuss his anti-abortion views because “as a campaign topic, sadly, that in fact won’t win my independent votes that I have to get.”
Most polls show McAuliffe ahead of Youngkin by about 3 points in the race.
The election will be held on Nov. 2.
A previous version of this story stated that the flag brought onstage at a recent Youngkin campaign event was carried at the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. However, an event host said the flag was carried at the “peaceful rally” with Trump that preceded the riot, not at the riot itself.
Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.