Gov. Youngkin Endorses Trump’s Presidential Campaign

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin endorsed former President Donald Trump for president on Wednesday night, hours after the GOP presidential candidate was declared the party’s presumptive nominee by the Republican National Committee.

In a statement announcing his endorsement, he said, “Voters in the Commonwealth and across the country have spoken loudly for President Donald J. Trump and I endorse him for President of the United States.”

“His record on border security, restoring American leadership around the world, reducing taxes and lowering the cost of living for all Americans stands in stark contrast to the open borders, failed leadership on the global stage, rampant inflation and higher costs of today,” he added.

The Republican governor went on to call for a consolidation of the GOP around “strong leadership and policies that grow our great nation, not four more years of President Biden.”

Youngkin’s endorsement comes after Trump secured a landslide victory on Super Tuesday, when he beat his rival, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley by 28 points in Virginia. The next day, Haley announced her decision to quit her campaign, as Trump has secured 1,031 delegates out of the 1,215 required to secure the party’s nomination while she had 89.

Before Youngkin’s endorsement came Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who said that “it is abundantly clear that former President Trump has earned the requisite support of Republican voters to be our nominee for President of the United States.”

McConnell, who has had a frosty relationship with Trump since 2020, added, “During his presidency, we worked together to accomplish great things for the American people including tax reform that supercharged our economy and a generational change of our federal judiciary — most importantly, the Supreme Court. I look forward to the opportunity of switching from playing defense against the terrible policies the Biden administration has pursued to a sustained offense geared towards making a real difference in improving the lives of the American people.”

Wednesday came with three endorsements in total from the left, as Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) also announced a decision to back the GOP frontrunner.

As the final member of the GOP’s Senate leadership to back Trump’s candidacy, Ernst tweeted, “We must beat Joe Biden and get this country back on track. Donald Trump has my support.”

We must beat Joe Biden and get this country back on track. Donald Trump has my support.

— Joni Ernst (@joniernst) March 6, 2024