With the Virginia gubernatorial race heating up and gaining national attention, former President Donald Trump is weighing in, and it's a doozy.
Former President Donald Trump just sent out a statement about the Virginia gubernatorial race pic.twitter.com/IdAVj2IhFp
— Brandon Jarvis (@Jaaavis) July 9, 2021
The former president calls Democrat Terry McAuliffe "a political HACK" as McAuliffe, the former governor who is running again, was someone Trump "knew... well." He went on to say that McAuliffe "accepted large campaign contributions from me, said only great things and would do whatever I wanted, until I ran for office."
But, the statement did not solely focus on McAuliffe. It also addressed Glenn Youngkin's qualifications. The Republican candidate, who describes himself as a "political outsider" and "successful business leader," is the former CEO of the Carlyle Group.
The Youngkin campaign recently exposed that McAuliffe was an investor of the Carlyle Group and has reached out to the McAuliffe campaign, with no response.
#VAGOV news: @TerryMcAuliffe is trying to hit @GlennYoungkin for his years as CEO of the Carlyle Group
— Matthew Foldi (@MatthewFoldi) July 8, 2021
Well, TMac himself was an investor, and Youngkin's campaign tried asking how much he invested
But, TMac's team kicked them out
So I asked them. Will report if I hear back pic.twitter.com/xJieGtsHDR
Terry McAuliffe invested in Carlyle, the company where Glenn Youngkin was co-CEO.
— Team Youngkin (@TeamYoungkin) July 8, 2021
According to the Associated Press, "Veyance Technologies was among those companies in a larger fund in which McAuliffe had invested, which means he would have profited from the deal."
In the statement, Trump also noted Youngkin "has been an incredible success and will truly Make Virginia Great Again. Rarely have I seen such enthusiasm." He further mentioned that "Glenn will fix this immediately," referring to issues like the economy, crime, and Critical Race Theory." McAuliffe has referred to CRT as a "right-wing conspiracy."
"If Virginia wants to open up and take advantage of its great and virtually unprecedented opportunity, Glenn Youngkin is the very successful businessman that will get them there," the statement closed with.
A spokesperson for the Youngkin campaign said that McAuliffe is a "total fraud."
"Terry McAuliffe knows he can’t beat Glenn Youngkin, which is why he is so desperate to run against someone else. The trouble for Terry is that he’s a total fraud who took $25,000 from Donald Trump, hugged Donald Trump, toasted Donald Trump, and now pretends like he hasn’t been friends with him for nearly three decades. Terry is as slimy as Bill Clinton and as dishonest as Hillary Clinton, which makes sense because they’re his two mentors," the statement said.
The general election in Virginia is November 2.