Is Biden 'baiting' Trump into Virginia gubernatorial race?

President Biden on Friday night hit the campaign trail in Arlington, Virginia, for the state's Democratic gubernatorial candidate — and former governor — Terry McAuliffe. Biden used his time addressing the crowd to not only build up McAuliffe, but also take a shot at former President Donald Trump.

"This is a big deal," Biden said, referring to McAuliffe's showdown with Republican candidate Glenn Youngkin, who has Trump's backing. "Terry and I share a lot in common. I ran against Donald Trump and so is Terry. And I whipped Donald Trump in Virginia and so will Terry. I tell you what, the guy Terry is running against is an acolyte of Donald Trump — for real, I mean it's just like, I don't where these guys come from."

The New York Times' Jonathan Martin says that Biden's comments are very much part of his team's strategy to get Trump more involved in the Virginia race. "The strategy is to keep baiting Trump into the [Virginia] race, and eventually lure him to [Virginia], and Biden threw out a big worm toward the lily pads last night," Martin wrote Saturday on Twitter. Read more about the campaign event, which was Biden's first in-person, candidate-specific appearance since he became president in January, at CNN.

Article continues below

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Explore More

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.