FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump attends a meeting with Argentina's President Javier Milei (not pictured) during the 80th United Nations General Assembly, in New York City, New York, U.S., September 23, 2025. REUTERS/Al Drago/File Photo
President Donald Trump appeared at a tele-rally Thursday to support "the entire Virginia Republican ticket," in next Tuesday's much-watched general election, Fox News reported Friday. But there was a big asterisk.
It seems that Trump has never gotten around to endorsing the woman at the top of the ticket, state Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, the GOP nominee facing off for governor against former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger. A Roanoke College poll reported Thursday that Spanberger holds a commanding 51-to-41 advantage on the eve of the election — the same margin an Emerson College found earlier in October.
Earle-Sears is vying to replace term-limited Gov. Glenn Youngkin, who shared the spotlight with Trump at the tele-rally.
"Both Youngkin and Trump expressed hope that Earle-Sears could replicate that formula against the favored Democrat, Spanberger," Fox News reported. "But Trump has declined to officially endorse Earle-Sears during this cycle."
Fox News noted, "Republicans often face a delicate balancing act — energizing their base and attracting independents without galvanizing staunchly anti-Trump voters in Virginia’s most densely populated areas."
No explanation was provided by the Trump campaign for why it has withheld the "complete and total endorsement" so many other Republicans receive from him — especially those he rallies for. As Raw Story reported, Trump spoke in Norfolk on Oct. 5 and "made zero comments" about Earle-Sears — and didn't mention her name — instead praising the U.S. Navy at the speech.
There is some history between the two, as AP News reported in March:
"Earle-Sears had not cozied up to Trump in recent years. In 2020, she co-chaired a group called Black Americans to Re-elect President Trump. But after the 2022 midterms, she said Trump was a liability and suggested it was time for the party to move on. In her 2023 memoir, Earle-Sears commended Trump’s policies during his first term, but she said, “For the good of the nation, I do not think he should run again in 2024.”