Gov. Youngkin Laughs Dismissively at Donald Trump’s Attempted Insult: ‘I Do Not Call People Names’
Virginia’s Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears have been at odds with ex-president Donald Trump this week in the wake of the 2022 midterms, and Trump hasn’t handled it very well. Not that Gov. Youngkin seems to care too much.
Lt. Gov. Sears — Virginia’s first Black woman to serve in the role — very explicitly made clear that she believes it’s time to move on from Trump. When Youngkin, who is among possible GOP contenders next cycle, was likewise asked about Trump’s 2024 ambitions, he was not as direct but also didn’t express much interest.
Trump will “do what he decides is best,” he told a reporter, “and that’s his decision, not mine.”
Trump of course flipped out over it, going after Youngkin like has been doing to lots of Republicans he’s previously endorsed, in preparation to run against them in 2024 and pitch himself as the only possible savior for the GOP.
“Young Kin (now that’s an interesting take. Sounds Chinese, doesn’t it?) in Virginia couldn’t have won without me,” Trump wrote on the app he had created for him after getting kicked off Twitter.
At a presser on Friday, Youngkin was asked about that insult, and just like his lack of concern over facing Trump in 2024, he was unmoved by Trump’s attempt to frame him as a tool of the Chinese government.
“First of all, I didn’t see it,” said Gov. Youngkin in a clip shared by ABC affiliate WRIC reporter Jackie DeFusco. “Listen, you all know me, I do not call people names. I really work hard to bring people together, and that’s what we’re working on.”
“Well he’s kind of calling you a name,” said the reporter who brought it up.
“I just, that’s not the way I roll and not the way I behave,” said Youngkin pointedly, clearly suggesting that it’s a character defect specific to Trump.
Youngkin has previously commented that he, unlike Trump, is not a name-caller, and told Fox News that bringing people together is more effective than Trump’s methods. When Bret Baier asked him whether Trump’s repeated insults directed at Elaine Chao are detrimental to that, Youngkin said “Yes.”
WRIC’s DeFusco also shared a clip of her question for Youngkin on Friday, on the subject of Lt. Gov. Sears saying it’s time to move on from Trump.
“I haven’t made any comments on that,” said Youngkin. “Right now what I am focused on is bringing everybody together, post the election, and getting everybody moving.”
Watch the clips above via ABC News.
