Governor Glenn Youngkin responded on Wednesday to President Joe Biden referring to former Governor Terry McAuliffe as the “real governor” of Virginia shortly before announcing “Virginia stands with Texas” in the standoff between Governor Greg Abbott and the Biden administration over the southern border.
Biden launched a Tuesday campaign event by greeting Virginia and “the real governor, Terry McAuliffe,” which White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre insisted was a joke. After Biden’s purported attempt at comedy, Youngkin told 12 On Your Side on Wednesday that he was not surprised the president “doesn’t know who the Governor of Virginia is.”
After asserting Biden “gets confused on some things,” Youngkin declared, “He hasn’t figured out how to deal with our border. He hasn’t figured out how to manage the economy. It’s not surprising he doesn’t know who the Governor of Virginia is.”
“He hasn’t figured out how to deal with our border. He hasn’t figured out how to manage the economy. It’s not surprising that he doesn’t know who the Governor of Virginia is.” – Governor @GlennYoungkin on @JoeBiden pic.twitter.com/xbN6DpxbMo
— Team Youngkin – Spirit of Virginia (@TeamYoungkin) January 25, 2024
While Youngkin reiterated to the outlet his previous pledge not to endorse a Republican presidential candidate until the party officially chooses its nominee, the governor told the outlet, “We have to make sure this next time around that Joe Biden is not the president.”
Youngkin later posted to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, confirming that “Virginia stands with Texas” in the feud with the Biden administration over Abbott’s decision to protect the southern border with the Texas National Guard.
The governor wrote that Abbott “is doing the job Joe Biden and his border czar refuse to do to secure our border,” and accused the Biden administration of turning “every state into a border state.”
“We must stop the flow of fentanyl, save lives, and secure our southern border,” wrote Youngkin.
Virginia stands with Texas. @GregAbbott_TX is doing the job Joe Biden and his border czar refuse to do to secure our border.
The Biden administration has turned every state into a border state. We must stop the flow of fentanyl, save lives, and secure our southern border. https://t.co/XaPu2RqJBP
— Glenn Youngkin (@GlennYoungkin) January 25, 2024
Youngkin is among a growing number of Republican governors who have publicly declared their support for Abbott’s move to secure the border. While many offered individual messages of support, a total of 25 governors released a joint statement on Thursday proclaiming their support for Abbott.
In neighboring Tennessee, Governor Bill Lee previously declared, “Tennessee stands with Texas” in a Thursday post to X. “The federal government’s failure to secure our nation’s southern border is jeopardizing the safety of all Americans,” Lee wrote.
Former President Donald Trump also expressed his support for Abbott’s decision in a Thursday post to Truth Social, where he wrote that “Texas has rightly invoked the Invasion Clause of the Constitution, and must be given full support to repel the Invasion.”
Trump also called on “all willing States to deploy their guards to Texas to prevent the entry of Illegals, and to remove them back across the Border,” and pledged to “work hand in hand” with Abbott and other governors to begin “the largest domestic deportation operation in history.”
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
