Trump gushes over Youngkin and hammers Biden during first post-debate campaign stop in Chesapeake

Donald Trump cozyed up to Gov. Glenn Youngkin during his appearance in Chesapeake Friday as he seeks to woo undecided voters in Virginia’s suburbs.

Trump’s visit was the second presidential campaign event in Hampton Roads in two days and his first campaign appearance after his debate with President Joe Biden.

Before the debate on Thursday, first lady Jill Biden stopped briefly in Virginia Beach to rally supporters.

During the debate, Trump made persistent false claims that undocumented immigrants were committing violent crimes and that tariffs on products from countries like China would cost the country, not American consumers, despite the evidence to the contrary.

Trump took a less extreme position on abortion during the debate, saying he supported protecting access to mifepristone, an FDA-approved drug used for abortions. He contrasted that position with Democrats, saying the party believes in more radical abortion practices, such as performing abortions in the final weeks of pregnancy without a medical reason.

At Friday’s event, Trump once again returned to immigration and the increase in the number of undocumented migrants since Biden took office in 2021, evoking scenes of anarchy and chaos that he blamed on these migrants.

The number of immigrants crossing the border illegally has increased sharply since Biden took office, but Biden has maintained some Trump policies when he took office and put more restrictions in place.

“These millions of people are coming from prisons and mental asylums,” Trump said, repeating a claim for which the New York Times says there is no evidence. “Venezuela has the lowest crime rate in 30 years because they take their gang members and drop them off in Virginia. »

Virginia Republicans said before Trump’s appearance that immigration-related economic and security concerns were issues that would be big motivators for a key demographic of undecided voters: women without college degrees.

Trump addressed these topics forcefully on Friday, blaming Biden for inflation and his border policies, falsely claiming that Biden completely opened the border after Trump left the White House.

“Suburban women, you know why they love me? Because I’m going to protect them, militarily and also from a border standpoint and everything else,” Trump said.

Suburban white women have been key to victory in Virginia in recent years, and the group has regularly swung between parties.

Youngkin won the governorship in 2021 largely by appealing to suburbanites and their concerns about what was happening in schools during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fueled by concerns about abortion, college-educated suburban women have turned out in several key statehouse races in 2023, including Virginia Beach, which handed control of the Virginia House of Delegates to Democrats for the first time in 20 years.

These are the voters most likely to be targeted by presidential campaigns in the coming months, as Trump did on Friday. Republicans believe Trump can woo these undecided voters and win Virginia, a state that hasn’t voted for a Republican for president since 2004.

Trump was also very complimentary of Youngkin during his speech Friday, giving the governor several cheers and inviting him to speak twice.

“I am honored to be here with your governor. … He has common sense, he has excellent policy. He has the policies that made America great,” Trump said of Youngkin.

Youngkin is among those rumored to be on Trump’s list of politicians he might consider as a running mate.

Although his political ambitions were thwarted by Democratic control of the General Assembly, Youngkin has remained relatively popular in Virginia. The Republican governor initially won the 2021 election, in part, by keeping President Trump at arm’s length during his campaign.

Since then, he has fully supported Trump.

State and local GOP members were at Greenbrier Farms to show their support, including former Governors Bob McDonnell and George Allen, as well as Congresswoman Jen Kiggans.