Tipsheet

Election Denier or Senile Old Man? Biden Refers to Terry McAuliffe as 'Real Governor' of Virginia

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  January 23, 2024 7:30 PM

Monday was the 51st anniversary of when the U.S. Supreme Court handed down the Roe v. Wade decision on abortion, later overturned in 2022 by Dobbs v. Jackson. President Joe Biden, members of his administration, and fellow Democrats certainly made abortion a major issue, also making it clear they intend to do so for the presidential election in November. On Tuesday, Biden gave remarks in Manassas, Virginia at a campaign rally to "Restore Roe." Not only did the president fearmonger on this top issue for Democrats, he also made remarks that led to questions about his willingness to accept election results as well as his mental capabilities.

During his remarks, Biden gave a shout out to "the real governor, Terry McAuliffe," leading to charges of election denialism. McAuliffe served as the Democratic governor from 2014-2018, was prevented from running again in 2017 by the state constitution, and then ran again in 2021 against now Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican. 

Another theory is that it's an example of Biden's diminishing capabilities that he thinks McAuliffe is still in office. "Dementia" has been trending over X, in addition to "Virginia."

The RNC Research account saw the moment as an opportunity to remind how other top Democrats, including 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), and twice failed Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams from Georgia. 

Even more noteworthy when it comes to election denial claims is that McAuliffe made that a major focus of his campaign as he tried to tie Youngkin to former and potentially future President Donald Trump and his claims about the 2020 election results. McAuliffe also campaigned with Abrams. Meanwhile, McAuliffe had engaged in election denialism himself with the 2000 presidential election when he served as chairman of the DNC. 

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It turned out to be a losing tactic for McAuliffe, especially as Trump had lost Virginia in both 2016 and 2020. McAiliffe ended up losing in 2021 with 48.6 percent of the vote to Youngkin's 50.6 percent. 

Youngkin reposted the clip, adding "Mr. President, I'm right here." His Spirit of Virginia PAC also released a press release full of reminders for Biden that highlighted how unpopular he's been in the commonwealth:

Reminder for Biden: Glenn Youngkin beat Terry McAuliffe in Virginia a year after Biden won the Commonwealth by 10 points.

Another reminder for Biden: Governor Glenn Youngkin is far more popular among Virginians than Biden. A new poll was released just yesterday that showed Youngkin with a 54% approval rating, a net positive of 23 points, and a 5-point increase in Youngkin’s approval from August. Biden has a meager 37% approval rating in the same poll, an astounding 54% disapproval rating, is underwater among Virginians by 17 points, and has suffered a 2-point decline in his approval rating since August.  

Biden might try to deny election results. But there is no denying that Virginians approve of the job Glenn Youngkin is doing as Governor and disapprove of the job Joe Biden is doing as president. 

His Spiirt of Virginia X account also reposted takes about the president's shout-out to the former governor.

That wasn't the only memorably catastrophic moment for the president during his speech, however. The Trump War Room account was also tuning in, and shared a clip of Biden slurring his words as he pounded the podium, calling him "Cognitively Impaired Joe Biden."

"Don't mess with women in America unless you want to get the benefit," it appears the president was trying to say. The crowd applauded nevertheless.

Further, the speech was derailed approximately 15 times by pro-Hamas agitators who demanded that the president support a ceasefire. The RNC Research account also highlighted a hot mic moment of an unidentified person speaking to security when it comes to such interruptions.

In addition to such viral moments, at the heart of the matter of the president's speech is the Democratic Party's obsession with not just supporting abortion, but through all nine months of pregnancy for any reason without legal limit. Biden has been bold in pushing for Congress to pass the Women's Health Protection Act (WHPA), which he and other supporters claim would merely "restore" or "codify" the since overturned decision, though it would actually expand it.

And yet as White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre displayed yet again this week, as she too pushed for the WHPA, the Democrats have no problem causing confusion and misleading on that support either. 

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel issued a statement on Tuesday, noting "Joe Biden dodges questions on abortion limitations because he knows that Democrats’ support for abortion on demand, up until birth is out of touch with the mainstream. Republicans continue to stand with unborn children, vulnerable mothers, and the majority of Americans who believe that life is precious and worth defending, while Democrats will continue to push their extreme abortion agenda that hurts children and families alike. Can Biden name any abortion he doesn’t support?"