Democrats try to bait Trump into heading to Virginia to campaign for Youngkin

Is former President Donald Trump coming to Virginia to rally for Glenn Youngkin ahead of next week’s election for governor?

Youngkin’s Democratic opponent, Terry McAuliffe, really wants voters to think so.

His campaign blasted a fundraising email Wednesday less than an hour after Trump released a statement commenting on a rally McAuliffe had with President Joe Biden in Arlington the night before.

“Chanting, ‘We love Trump’ in Arlington, Va. Thank you, Arlington, see you soon!” Trump said in the brief statement issued by his Save America leadership PAC.

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The Washington Examiner attended Tuesday’s rally and witnessed approximately two dozen pro-Trump, pro-Youngkin protesters outside. A chant also briefly broke out while Biden was speaking, but the president dismissed it, saying “No, no, no, no. Let ’em talk. That’s OK. Look, this is not a Trump rally. Let ’em holler. No one’s paying attention.”

People in the audience could also be heard yelling, “We love Joe!” Others, however, believe they heard “We love Trump!” including the former president himself.

Appearing to take a cue from that statement, which does not confirm Trump is headed to Virginia to campaign for Youngkin, McAuliffe’s team sent an email with the subject line: “Trump is coming to VIRGINIA!”

“This is a five alarm five, folks!” the email says. “With just 6 days left in this race, Donald Trump is coming to Virginia to campaign for fellow extremist Glenn Youngkin. This could give Youngkin the boost he needs and we can’t afford to not respond. We need an unprecedented grassroots response to reject Trumpism and Glenn Youngkin.”

The rest of the email talks about grassroots fundraising and provides several links for people to click and donate.

McAuliffe is facing off against Youngkin, the GOP nominee, in the Nov. 2 election next week. Polls indicate it will be a close contest.

The Washington Examiner reached out to Trump’s team for comment on whether he does plan to visit Virginia before the contest but did not immediately receive a response.

Taylor Budowich, a Trump spokesman, teased a visit by the former president sometime in the future.

“Virginia loves President Donald J. Trump and his MAGA movement will be delivering a major victory to Trump-endorsed businessman [Youngkin]. President Trump looks forward to being back in Virginia! Details will be released when appropriate. Thanks!” he said in a tweet tagging the GOP candidate.

Two people familiar with Trump’s plans said he is not expected to visit Virginia before Election Day, the Washington Post reported Wednesday evening.

Despite a lack of confirmation, McAuliffe insisted Trump is coming to Virginia “to campaign for his handpicked guy,” Youngkin.

“Enough of this MAGA nonsense,” McAuliffe said. “We will defeat Trump once again this November!”

There appears to be some calculus at work, with opponents of Youngkin predicting a visit by Trump to Virginia could hurt the Republican’s prospects. The GOP candidate has sought to walk a careful line on the former president, accepting his endorsement while keeping him at arm’s length as he tries to woo moderate and suburban voters.

Rick Wilson, a co-founder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, wrote on Twitter that Youngkin “banned” Trump from coming to the state and disparaged the former president.

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McAuliffe is a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee who first served as governor of Virginia from 2014 to 2018. Governors in the state are barred from serving two consecutive terms.

Records show Trump gave ​$25,000 to McAuliffe’s unsuccessful gubernatorial primary bid in 2009, long before he ran for president as a Republican.