Trump blasts Gillespie, saying he lost Virginia election because he 'did not embrace me'

(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

last updated 8 November 2017

President Trump waited (checks watch) about 20 minutes after the Virginia election was called in favor of Democrat Ralph Northam to try to distance himself from the Republican who lost the contentious race.

"Ed Gillespie worked hard but did not embrace me or what I stand for," Trump tweeted Tuesday night from South Korea. "Don't forget, Republicans won 4 out of 4 House seats, and with the economy doing record numbers, we will continue to win, even bigger than before!" Gillespie did take out ads in favor of some of Trump's positions, including being strict on immigration and keeping Confederate monuments up.

Trump tweeted his support of Gillespie as late as Tuesday morning, and recorded a robocall that was released in waves on Monday and Tuesday. "I need you to vote for Ed Gillespie to be your new governor of Virginia," he said. "If you let Ralph Northam be governor, he will be a total disaster for your state. Northam is weak on crime, weak on immigration, and as your lieutenant governor, Northam has driven your economy right into a ditch, and he didn't even show up to the most important meetings." He also said Gillespie "will make America great again, a phrase that I like a lot." Virginia's economy is humming and its crime and unemployment rates are low.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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