Republican Glenn Youngkin’s gubernatorial campaign has responded to his Democrat opponent’s apparent change of heart about current Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D).
Terry McAuliffe, the former head of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) who is running for his second non-consecutive term as governor of Virginia, once called on Northam to resign when a yearbook image of the Commonwealth’s governor wearing blackface or a Ku Klux Klan hood reemerged.
“Once that picture with the blackface and Klansman came out, there is no way you can continue to be the governor of the commonwealth of Virginia,” McAuliffe said at the time.
“Ralph is a good, moral, decent man. And may have made some mistakes in his past. We all have made mistakes. Ralph will do the right thing for the commonwealth of Virginia. He will put Virginia first. And I think that will happen relatively soon,” he continued.
But earlier this week, McAuliffe changed his tune. He shared an image of himself with Northam, and wished Northam a happy birthday.
He called Northam his “good friend” and “our great governor.”
Happy birthday to my good friend and our great governor, @RalphNortham! 🎉🎉👍💥💫 pic.twitter.com/1VYutkoGwD
— Terry McAuliffe (@TerryMcAuliffe) September 13, 2021
The flip-flop drew a reaction from Youngkin’s campaign.
Youngkin spokesman Christian Martinez told The Virginia Star:
“40-year career politician Terry McAuliffe has a history of saying and doing anything to get elected, including looking the other way for endorsements and campaign contributions. McAuliffe looked the other way when he fundraised with an alleged abuser in Vegas, looked the other way when he accepted $100K from an ally of rapist Harvey Weinstein, and has spent over half his lifetime looking and cheering on his mentor Bill Clinton, a close pal of child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. It’s no surprise that McAuliffe would choose to ignore Northam’s racist scandal just to line his pockets with campaign contributions.”
Martinez was referring to a recent high-brow fundraiser McAuliffe held in upstate New York with former President Bill Clinton.
Youngkin and McAuliffe will square off in Virginia’s gubernatorial election on November 2.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Virginia Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Terry McAuliffe and Ralph Northam” by Terry McAuliffe.
