Governor Glenn Youngkin wrote in defense of the Democratic Speaker of the House of Delegates on Thursday after the Republican Party of Virginia (VAGOP) cited the felony drug conviction of Speaker Don Scott (D-Portsmouth) and claimed he wants to lower the penalties for drug crimes to help drug dealers in a post to social media.
In a now-deleted post to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, the VAGOP reportedly wrote, “Is it any surprise that [Scott] spent 8 years in federal prison for peddling drugs to college kids, and now he’s obsessed with legislation to cut breaks for drug dealers? Anything for your buddies, right?”
Scott, in response, questioned the courage of his detractors for making such challenges on social media, and reportedly remarked, “If I am what they say I am, how the hell do they keep losing to me?”
.@DonScott757 reacting to this just now:
Says people at @VA_GOP act friendly but “don’t have the balls to come to my face and stay stuff like that.”
“If I am what they say I am, how the hell do they keep losing to me?” https://t.co/rz4UL63OSG
— Graham Moomaw (@gmoomaw) February 15, 2024
Youngkin disavowed the VAGOP’s post and said he contacted Scott after it was made.
“This comment is unforgivable,” wrote Youngkin to X. The governor added, “I’ve personally expressed to Speaker Scott my deep respect for him and his life journey, this kind of personal attack his no place in Virginia or anywhere.”
This comment is unforgivable.
Today, I’ve personally expressed to Speaker Scott my deep respect for him and his life journey, this kind of personal attack has no place in Virginia or anywhere. https://t.co/uq7GSF2E1y
— Glenn Youngkin (@GlennYoungkin) February 15, 2024
Youngkin was joined in his denunciation by House Minority Leader Todd Gilbert (R-Shenandoah), who cited Scott’s “personal story of redemption” in his post to X.
“This kind of garbage comment has no place in our discourse,” wrote Gilbert. “Speaker Don Scott’s personal story of redemption is something to behold and admire.”
Gilbert added, “He and I have disagreed on policy and process and will continue to do so, but he has earned respect and he certainly has mine.”
This kind of garbage comment has no place in our discourse. Speaker Don Scott’s personal story of redemption is something to behold and admire. He and I have disagreed on policy and process and will continue to do so, but he has earned respect and he certainly has mine. https://t.co/DVNZQQaHn1
— Delegate Todd Gilbert (@cToddGilbert) February 15, 2024
In 1994, Scott was arrested for drug dealing-related offenses and ultimately served a seven-year prison sentence, but claimed in a 2018 interview with The Virginian-Pilot that he “never saw drugs” and his participation was limited to agreeing to travel to Alabama to pick up money for a drug dealer.
During his 2018 remarks to that outlet, Scott cited the mandatory minimum sentence for his crime and suggested it exposed him to issues with the criminal justice system.
The increased friction between Youngkin and Virginia Democrats comes after they appear to have successfully defeated many of his proposals for the current legislative session while advancing their own policy promises.
Democrats have delayed the governor’s plans to build a new sports complex for the Washington Wizards and Washington Capitals, his efforts to reduce income tax and reform the commonwealth’s sales tax and his plans to ban TikTok for minors and regulate social media companies’ offerings to children.
At the same time, Democrats narrowly passed a bill that would increase Virginia’s minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2026 that will now go to Youngkin’s desk for approval.
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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].
Image “Speaker Don Scott” by Don Scott and “Gov Glenn Youngkin is by Glenn Youngkin.
