Biden Leans On Specter Of Trump, Jan. 6 In Stump Speech For Virginia Gov. Race
President Joe Biden took the stage at a campaign rally in Virginia on Tuesday, stumping for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe while painting the race as an urgent referendum on Trumpism throughout the Republican Party.
McAuliffe is locked in a fierce battle for the governorâs mansion against GOP candidate Glenn Youngkin, with polls showing the pair neck and neck before the election next week. For Democrats, the race has become a high-stakes rallying cry to shore up support for the Biden agenda, while Republicans have crafted the fight as the first major chance to retake momentum going into next yearâs midterm elections.
âYou all know the stakes. You donât have to wonder what kind of governor Terry will be because you know what a great governor he was,â Biden said Tuesday. âBut look, how well do you know Terryâs opponent? I ran against Donald Trump, and Terryâs running against an acolyte of Donald Trump.â
Virginians head to the polls on Nov. 2 in one of the first statewide elections since Biden won the White House in 2020.
Republican candidates havenât been able to escape the pull of the former president, who looms large over the election landscape amid ongoing probes into the Jan. 6 attack.
Youngkin has painted himself as a moderate but has drawn criticism for his refusal to completely disavow Trumpâs efforts to undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election. The GOPer has also pledged to focus on so-called âelection integrity,â feeding into ongoing Republican dog whistles about nonexistent voter fraud.
âTo win the Republican nomination, he embraced Donald Trump,â Biden said. âTalk about an oxymoron: Donald Trump and election integrity? I canât believe he puts the words Trump and integrity in the same sentence.â
McAuliffe, who served as Virginiaâs governor from 2014 to 2018, has pledged to make it easier to vote, protect abortion rights and increase support for teachers while raising the minimum wage.
Biden leaned into his criticism of Youngkin later in his speech, saying Virginians should âknow better,â while pointing to McAuliffeâs past run as governor in his appeal to voters.
âExtremism can come in many forms. It can come in the rage of a mob driven to assault the Capitol. It can come in a smile in a fleece vest,â Biden said, a direct attack against Youngkinâs campaign garb. âBut the big lie is a lie. So Virginia, show up. Show up like you did for Barack and me. Show up like you did for me and Kamala. Show up for Terry McAullife.â
âVirginia, you canât take anything for granted,â the president added: âSo vote.â
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.