Donald Trump went after another popular Republican governor, Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, in what seemed like a warning after he derisively described Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as an "average" Republican on Thursday.
That is an interesting take. In Virginia, Trump wrote, couldn't have won without him. The origins of the governor's name are Germanic, but it's not clear why he lied about Youngkin being of Chinese ancestry.
A former finance executive, Youngkin used discontent over school closings and other education-related issues to prevail in last year's governor's race over Terry McAuliffe.
Trump said he was to blame for the governor's political rise. He couldn't have won if I hadn't endorsed him and done a big Trump rally for him. Trump wrote on Truth Social that he knew that and admitted it.
Although it is true that Trump endorsed Youngkin in the state's Republican primary, the candidate conspicuously kept his distance during the general election in order to appeal to Democrats.
Youngkin said as the campaign was closing that there would be a new crop of Republicans who would define a new way forward.
Youngkin has drawn a lot of presidential speculation. If history is any indication, he does have White House ambitions, as evidenced by the answer he gave last month when he was asked if he wanted to be president. He told Jake Tapper that he was very focused on Virginia.
Suburban voters helped Youngkin win in the northern Virginia suburbs, which have been seen as a bellwether of the presidential race. Both of them were campaigning for Republican candidates throughout the fall.
The candidates endorsed by Youngkin didn't fare well in the race to be the leader of the pack.
Those endorsed by Trump were also seen as drags on the party's prospects.
The former president blames party leaders and election officials for his candidates poor showing. In a development that could put him on a collision course with ambitious governors like DeSantis and Youngkin, as well as other prominent figures, he may announce his own presidential bid next Tuesday.
The rhetoric of Trump's post about Youngkin was shorter and softer than his anti-DeSantis posts. Lamenting some of Youngkin's challenges, Trump said that he would get it done.
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