Former Vice President Mike Pence came to Virginia Beach recently to raise money for Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin.
“Great to be in Virginia Beach supporting a true Conservative and the next Governor of the Old Dominion, Glenn Youngkin,” Pence tweeted Thursday afternoon. Youngkin did not comment on the event and it was not open to the public or press, but he did retweet the message.
Youngkin’s opponent Terry McAuliffe instantly jumped on the tweet saying “Donald Trump’s top loyalists are ALL IN for Glenn because they know he would do everything in his power to advance their right-wing agenda.”
The irony is that while Pence served loyally under Trump for four years throughout nearly every controversy, Pence rebuffed the strong efforts from Trump at the end to try and overturn the election results.
Trump then publicly shamed Pence for not being loyal to him. On the day that his supporters overthrew police officers and stormed the Capitol, Trump tweeted directly about Pence. “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!” President Trump wrote at 2:24 p.m.
Video from the day of the insurrection showed people calling for the death of Pence as they stormed the Capitol building.
Pence’s visit might actually turn off some die-hard Trump Republicans in Virginia, but his presence could also attract the moderate Republicans that Youngkin needs to show up in force this election — as long as they don’t remember why they disliked Pence prior to Jan 6.
Virginia Scope is an independent news publication that is funded largely by donations and subscribers. As local newsrooms are losing writers each day, we are trying to fill the void to ensure that the public is informed and that leaders are held accountable for their actions. If you can chip in a monthly subscription of whatever you can afford, even $1, it will go a long way to helping us. Subscribe here. You can also make a one-time donation below: