Virginia GOP begs Trump to endorse candidate he just accused of stabbing him in the back

Virginia Republicans begged former President Donald Trump on Thursday to reverse his "ill-advised" endorsement and come out in support of the candidate, who Trump (and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene) have said backstabbed Trump.

In an open letter to Trump sent Thursday afternoon and obtained by Politico, 25 Republican officials in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District — including Rick Buchanan, chair of the district's Republican Congressional Committee — "strongly" urged Trump to reconsider his endorsement of Rep. Bob Good’s opponent state Sen. John McGuire, in the Republican Primary.

McGuire "has a history of lying to voters and only representing his own ambitions rather than the needs of his constituents," the GOP leaders wrote in the letter.

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"In 2023, he repeatedly told voters that he would not run against Congressman Bob Good only to file to run for Congress less than 2 weeks after he was elected to the Virginia Senate and before he was even sworn into office," the letter said.

The letter added that McGuire is heavily reliant on outside money to fund his candidacy, and defiantly proclaimed: "He does not represent the values of the Republicans of the 5th District and has proven so by refusing to debate Congressman Good on the issues that matter to us."

The letter comes after a poll released Wednesday by the Virginia Faith and Freedom Coalition — two weeks ahead of the June 18 primary — showed McGuire with a 10-point lead over Good in the race. Seventy percent of the 300 respondents self-identified as very or somewhat conservative, the organization said.

Trump and Greene both came out in recent days to blast Good and support McGuire. On Tuesday, the Trump Campaign's official X account posted a video of the former president urging Virginians to get out and vote for McGuire.

"John is running against Bob Good, who is actually bad for Virginia, and who will stab you in the back like he did me," Trump said in the video."

Greene shared the former president's video on X, and echoed his statements, addressing "America First Patriots," and saying Good will "stab you in the back just like he did President Trump," which could be a reference to Good's actions after Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts in New York.

Good initially endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis over Trump days after the former president's indictment in his Manhattan hush money case. However, Good later switched his endorsement when DeSantis dropped out of the race.