Back in August, President Trump said he "would" endorse Winsome Earle-Sears for governor. But he has yet to do that. Earlier this month, he was speaking in Norfolk and did not even mention her name.
"Winsome looked like a girl that was waiting for a homecoming dance date who never showed up," says Democratic strategist Ben Tribbett. "To put her on a front row of an event in her state a month before the election and have the president not even recognize that she was there or introduce her; that's an intentional diss."
Republicans say Trump knows when to make an endorsement and when to remain silent.
"Notice that he hasn’t weighed in on New York other than to attack Mamdani. That's all he's done," says Republican strategist Jeff Ryer. "He's just attacked Mamdani. He hasn't said vote for Cuomo. He hasn't said vote for Curtis Sliwa. He's just gone after Mamdani. And that's it. I think he knows when to engage and when not to engage and how to engage."
Four years ago, Trump did not appear at a rally with then-candidate Glenn Youngkin, although the two of them did appear on an invitation-only conference call. Youngkin won the election anyway.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
