'They disparage him privately': Virginia GOP governor shamed for endorsing Trump

Former President Donald Trump became the presumptive GOP nominee for president on Wednesday with the end of former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley's campaign. And this meant a number of Republicans who had tried to keep their distance from him are now moving to endorse.

One such politician was Gov. Glenn Youngkin of Virginia, who posted his endorsement on X.

"Voters in the Commonwealth and across the country have spoken loudly for President Donald J. Trump and I endorse him for President of the United States," said Youngkin's statement. "His record on border security, restoring American leadership around the world, reducing taxes and lowering the cost of living for all Americans stands in stark contrast to the open borders, failed leadership on the global stage, rampant inflation and higher costs of today. It's time to unite around strong leadership and policies that grow our great nation, not four more years of President Biden."

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Former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL), one of Trump's harshest conservative critics, was disgusted with this move.

"So tell me again the Republican Party can be saved?" he wrote in reply. "Here’s a 'reasonable' Republican who knows Trump is unfit to be President, yet enthusiastically endorses him. Ok."

This comes after another major longtime intraparty adversary of Trump, outgoing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), bit the bullet and endorsed Trump as well, just three years after proclaiming he incited an insurrection to overturn democracy.

Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) also chimed in on Youngkin's statement, linking him to McConnell, who made a similar announcement recently.

"Today, two men who know better, Mitch McConnell and Glenn Youngkin, endorsed Donald Trump," Himes wrote. "They disparage him privately, but support him publicly. And thus become complicit in the dismantling of American democracy."