Trump is upset because people are saying Glenn Youngkin is more popular than he is
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Well...is anyone shocked?
Former President Donald Trump had already begun taking credit for Republican Glenn Youngkin's win in Virginia before the Tuesday governor's race was even called, having released a statement that night thanking his base for "coming out in force and voting for Glenn Youngkin. Without you, he would not have been close to winning," reports The Hill.
On Wednesday morning, though, Trump took that statement one step further during an interview on a local Virginia radio station, saying that "Without MAGA," Youngkin "would have lost by 15 points or more."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Instead of giving us credit, they say, 'Oh he's more popular than Trump.' It's unbelievable," Trump added in reference to Youngkin, per The New York Times.
That Youngkin "kept his distance" from the ex-president despite rallying around issues popular with his base appeared lost on the MAGA leader, who endorsed the governor-elect in May, per the Times.
The host of Wednesday's show, John Fredericks — who also served as Trump's Virginia campaign chair during his White House campaigns — agreed with the ex-president's credit-seeking comments, adding that "If there was no Trump in this election, there's no Glenn Youngkin."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Political cartoons for February 7Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include an earthquake warning, Washington Post Mortem, and more
-
5 cinematic cartoons about Bezos betting big on 'Melania'Cartoons Artists take on a girlboss, a fetching newspaper, and more
-
The fall of the generals: China’s military purgeIn the Spotlight Xi Jinping’s extraordinary removal of senior general proves that no-one is safe from anti-corruption drive that has investigated millions
-
Trump links funding to name on Penn StationSpeed Read Trump “can restart the funding with a snap of his fingers,” a Schumer insider said
-
Trump reclassifies 50,000 federal jobs to ease firingsSpeed Read The rule strips longstanding job protections from federal workers
-
Is the Gaza peace plan destined to fail?Today’s Big Question Since the ceasefire agreement in October, the situation in Gaza is still ‘precarious’, with the path to peace facing ‘many obstacles’
-
Vietnam’s ‘balancing act’ with the US, China and EuropeIn the Spotlight Despite decades of ‘steadily improving relations’, Hanoi is still ‘deeply suspicious’ of the US as it tries to ‘diversify’ its options
-
Trump demands $1B from Harvard, deepening feudSpeed Read Trump has continually gone after the university during his second term
-
Trump’s Kennedy Center closure plan draws ireSpeed Read Trump said he will close the center for two years for ‘renovations’
-
Trump's ‘weaponization czar’ demoted at DOJSpeed Read Ed Martin lost his title as assistant attorney general
-
Gabbard faces questions on vote raid, secret complaintSpeed Read This comes as Trump has pushed Republicans to ‘take over’ voting
