NORFOLK, Virginia — Nearly four hours before President Donald Trump addressed thousands of sailors at the Naval Station Norfolk on Sunday, he endorsed a candidate in one of the three statewide races in Virginia.
However, notably, Trump did not endorse the top Republican on the ticket, Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, who is seeking to succeed the term-limited Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA).
Instead, in a post on Truth Social, Trump endorsed state Attorney General Jason Miyares, who is seeking reelection and is likely the Republican with the best shot at winning one of the statewide elections.
TRUMP PROMISES PAY RAISE FOR NAVY AND ARMED SERVICES AS SHUTDOWN CONTINUES
“It has just come out that the Radical Left Lunatic, Jay Jones, who is running against Jason Miyares, the GREAT Attorney General in Virginia, made SICK and DEMENTED jokes, if they were jokes at all, which were not funny, and that he wrote down and sent around to people, concerning the murdering of a Republican Legislator, his wife, and their children,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump was referencing controversial text messages reported by the National Review from Jay Jones, the Democratic attorney general nominee, that said former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert should receive “two bullets to the head.” The messages have unified Republicans in condemning Jones, who said he takes full responsibility for the messages and apologized to Gilbert over the incident.
“Even Democrats are saying it is “RESIGNATION FROM CAMPAIGN” TERRITORY. Democrat Jay Jones should drop out of the Race, IMMEDIATELY, and the People of Virginia must continue to have a GREAT Attorney General in Jason Miyares who, by the way, has my Complete and Total Endorsement — JASON WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!” Trump wrote.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also condemned Jones’s comments during her Monday press briefing.
“I think the president himself made his position very clear, and I think anyone could agree, the messages that were sent by this Democrat nominee for attorney general in Virginia are really shocking, alarming, and completely unacceptable,” Leavitt said. “He was threatening to kill his opponent and his opponent’s children, and that type of rhetoric has zero place in our country. And the president was absolutely right to condemn that.”
Leavitt did not mention Earle-Sears or the struggles she will face in defeating the Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Virginia Rep. Abigail Spanberger.
Despite branding Spanberger as “weak and ineffective,” Trump did not give Earle-Sears a resounding endorsement, even as the two women prepare for their sole debate on Thursday at Norfolk State University.
Trump also did not mention Earle-Sears as he spoke to thousands of sailors on Sunday, even though the lieutenant governor attended the speech.
It was a great and beautiful day @NAV_STA_NORFOLK celebrating 250 years of the @USNavy with @POTUS Trump, @FLOTUS Melania Trump, @SecWar Hegseth, @SecVetAffairs Collins, @SECNAV Phelan, and fellow veterans @RepJenKiggans, @RepJohnMcGuire, @RepVanOrden, and @RepDanCrenshaw!
As… pic.twitter.com/l1BMFjlN3a
— Lt. Governor of Virginia – Winsome Earle-Sears (@WinsomeSears) October 5, 2025
Yet, it’s unsurprising that Trump has dodged endorsing in the gubernatorial race.
A former Republican Party official cited Earle-Sears’s comments about Trump in the wake of Jan. 6 as one possible reason the president hasn’t jumped into the race, saying she “burned bridges.”
“She has definitely gotten on his bad side a few times. Now, she’s tried to make up for it. And but as you know, Trump’s not one to forget,” the official said.
Even as other Republicans have called for Jones to drop out, they also haven’t loudly encouraged Virginians to vote for Earle-Sears.
“The Democrat candidate for AG in Virginia has been fantasizing about murdering his political opponents in private messages. I’m sure the people hyperventilating about sombrero memes will join me in calling for this very deranged person to drop out of the race,” Vice President JD Vance wrote on X. He also did not mention the lieutenant governor.
Similarly, former Vice President Mike Pence called for Jones to “drop out of the race” on X and urged voters to support Miyares. However, he was also silent on support for Earle-Sears.
“It’s incredibly awkward,” David Richards, a political science professor at the University of Lynchburg, said about the lack of endorsement. “Look, she’s not doing well on the polls, and I don’t think that Trump thinks it’s worth his time to endorse somebody who all signs are pointing to the fact that she’s going to lose. He doesn’t want to be sort of associated with that.”
Throughout the gubernatorial race, Earle-Sears has trailed Spanberger in the polls, although some have shown the race narrowing. A recent Washington Post-Schar School poll showed Spanberger leading Earle-Sears by 12 points, 55% to 43%, and another Emerson College poll showed Spanberger at a 10-point lead, 52% to 42%.
“The president helps those who help themselves,” said Brian Seitchik, a national GOP strategist. “And money … strong polling numbers and a legitimate chance to win are what the president is always looking for when making an endorsement.”
“The president doesn’t get someone into contention; the president pulls them across the finish line,” he continued.
The former Republican official suggested that Trump is “waiting to see if any of the internal polling shows that this is close” to determine whether his endorsement will make a difference.
The Washington Examiner reached out to the Earle-Sears’s campaign for comment about Trump’s lack of endorsement but did not receive a response.
Yet Republicans also conceded that a Trump endorsement for Earle-Sears could add much-needed energy to her campaign.
“I think a Trump endorsement would be huge in getting the base fired up now that we’re under 30 days out … I think this race is a lot closer than anybody thinks, and there’s a good chance that we can have a repeat of four years ago if we message correctly on this Jay Jones scandal,” said Sean Spicer, former Trump White House spokesman who now hosts his own show.
A Virginia Democrat who requested anonymity told the Washington Examiner that they believe the Jones debacle “won’t impact Spanberger and I think Jones will still win.”
However, the former Republican Party official suggested that the Jones scandal could open up the gubernatorial race, especially during the debate between Earle-Sears and Spanberger.
At the debate, Earle-Sears could put Spanberger on the spot and pressure her to call on Jones to drop out of the race, creating “a moment,” the official said.
The Virginia races also faced another October surprise with the revelation that Republican lieutenant governor nominee John Reid is connected to Nazi porn accounts. Trump has also not endorsed Reid.
“I think the happiest person in the entire Jay Jones scandal has got to be John Reid at this point,” Richards said. “Because nobody’s attention is focused on him at this point. And I think he should be happy that that’s the case.”
Rachel Schilke and Marisa Schultz contributed to this report.