President Donald Trump on Thursday again took to Twitter to boost Republican Ed Gillespie’s bid for governor, drawing pointed responses from Democratic candidate Ralph Northam and Gov. Terry McAuliffe.
“Ed Gillespie will turn the really bad Virginia economy #’s around, and fast,” Trump tweeted on Thursday morning. “Strong on crime, he might even save our great statues/heritage!”
Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, responded on Twitter: “Virginia unemployment is 3.7%. National unemployment is 4.2%. Stop tweeting and get to work.”
In a follow-up tweet, the president said: “Ed Gillespie will be a great Governor of Virginia. His opponent doesn’t even show up to meetings/work, and will be VERY weak on crime!”
Northam responded to the president on Twitter: “I served 8 years in the Army, took care of sick kids, and am running to build a more inclusive Virginia. Don’t talk to me about showing up.”
Northam, a pediatric neurologist, also tweeted footage from the Remote Area Medical clinic in Wise County, where volunteer medical personnel provide free care.
“While I was treating patients at the RAM clinic, Donald Trump was golfing in Sterling,” Northam tweeted. “You tell me who doesn’t show up for Virginians.”
McAuliffe also directed a follow-up tweet to the president. “Speaking of not showing up, Ed Gillespie treats you like a communicable disease and you haven’t shown up for the most important race of ’17.”
Gillespie, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, has walked something of a tightrope in the election for governor, hoping to keep in the GOP fold both establishment Republicans and anti-establishment Republicans who more strongly back the president.
Gillespie has declined to say whether he plans to campaign with Trump, saying he does not divulge strategy. The president is scheduled to leave for Asia four days ahead of the Nov. 7 election.
Trump endorsed Gillespie on Twitter the night of Oct. 5. Gillespie did not retweet the president’s endorsement. The next day, Gillespie told reporters he was surprised it was considered news that a Republican president was endorsing a GOP nominee for governor.
On Thursday, Gillespie retweeted both of the president’s new tweets backing his campaign.
Vice President Mike Pence campaigned with Gillespie at an Oct. 14 rally in Abingdon. He appeared Wednesday with Gillespie at a Northern Virginia fundraiser that was not open to the press.
Gillespie, a former counselor to President George W. Bush, recently held fundraisers with Bush in Richmond and in Northern Virginia that were not open to the press. Days later, Bush delivered a speech in New York that was widely seen as a rebuke of Trump’s presidency.
Northam and Latino activists have criticized Gillespie over ads that featured the MS-13 motto “Kill, Rape, Control” along with a photo of heavily tattooed gang members. The ads oppose sanctuary cities and stress the dangers of the Latino gang.
Gillespie campaigned in Northern Virginia on Thursday with New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez. Next week, he will campaign in Loudoun County with U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.
Another Gillespie ad says Northam is in favor of taking down Confederate monuments while Gillespie wants them to remain. Northam said in August that he backed moving Confederate statues to museums. He has since said he’s “not going to meddle” in the statue decisions of localities and universities.
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