Comment on this story
comment
RICHMOND – Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, a Republican who traveled the country in 2020 to promote President Donald Trump’s re-election, said after this week’s midterm elections that it’s time for Trump to leave the stage politician.
“What we saw was that even though he wasn’t on the ballot, he was, because he stepped in and supported the candidates,” Earle-Sears told The Washington Post on Thursday. “And yet, it turns out that those who did not endorse on the same ticket did better than those who did. This gives you a hint that voters want to move on. And a true leader knows when they’ve become a liability to the mission.”
Earle-Sears is the most prominent Republican official in Virginia to break with Trump, who was deeply unpopular in the state at large but has maintained a firm grip on the Republican Party base.
Like Trump, infighting and flawed candidates limited Republican gains
He first made his position known in an interview with Fox Business earlier Thursday. His comments drew a sharp rebuke from a Trump spokesman, who issued a written statement.
“Winsome Sears rode a wave of President Trump voters to victory in the 2021 election,” the statement said. “Her comments are a slap in the face to all the grassroots Republicans who worked so hard to get her elected. They won’t forget that and there will be a reckoning. In politics there always is.”
Trump’s most prominent supporters in the state reacted with fury, vowing revenge against Earle-Sears and Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who appears to be weighing a 2024 presidential bid. Should he win the White House, Earle- Sears would complete his term as governor.
Radio host John Fredericks, chairman of Trump’s 2016 and 2020 Virginia campaigns, said he thought Youngkin had set up Earle-Sears to make the comments.
“If you think Winsome Sears did this without Glenn Youngkin’s approval, you’re naive,” Fredericks said. “This is his salvo to run for president. Good luck beating Team Trump in Virginia. We’re going to crush him in his own state.”
Youngkin’s signature red vest didn’t deliver big wins for GOP nominees
When asked if Youngkin knew in advance that she would be publicly breaking up with Trump, Earle-Sears declined to say.
“I’m not going to say ‘yes’ and I’m not going to say ‘no,'” he said. “I’ll just leave it alone.”
Spokesmen for Youngkin did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A former state representative and Marine, Sears, a Jamaican immigrant, served as chairman of the Black Americans to Re-elect the president two years ago and won the governorship last year on a ticket led by Youngkin.
“We have a lot of very well-qualified people” in addition to Trump to run for the White House, Earle-Sears said. Asked if he counts Youngkin among them, Earle-Sears did not directly answer.
“Well, you know I support the family,” he said with a laugh. “I’m not endorsing anybody.”
Youngkin apologizes to Pelosi for comments about attacking her husband
Youngkin has walked a tightrope with Trump as he sought to appeal to the former president’s fans and foes, often mincing words, avoiding political details and telegraphing a suburban dad vibe in his red vest.
Earle-Sears is his polar opposite, as outspoken as Youngkin is bold. Her signature campaign accessory was an assault rifle, strapped to her blouse and skirt in a photo plastered on campaign signs. Earle-Sears memorably used one of her high-heel bombs to hit the Virginia Senate for a day earlier this year, after a prankster hid his gavel.
Earle-Sears said she still thinks highly of what Trump accomplished for black Americans, crediting his administration with the increase in black entrepreneurship and the decrease in black unemployment that occurred during his tenure. presidency
“I was all over this country, campaigning for him, trying to win over black voters because he had done us so much good,” he said. “But you know, in the end, he lost and we moved on. And we hoped he could move on, too.”
Earle-Sears’ comments came a day after Del. Rep. Tim Anderson (R-Virginia Beach) disavowed the former president he once referred to: “I should have said that two years ago,” he told the Virginia Mercury.
State Sen. Amanda F. Chase (R-Chesterfield), a self-described “Trump in heels,” blasted both Anderson and Earle-Sears as “weak Republicans . . .”