2024-06-27T17:19:09.568ZVirginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is set to appear at a rally with former president Donald Trump in Chesapeake on Friday. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) went on the attack against President Biden on Friday morning, accusing him of “weakness” after the president looked shaky in a debate with former president Donald Trump. Youngkin spoke hours before he was to host Trump at their first joint public appearance.“America saw, it was on display, strength versus weakness,” Youngkin said in an appearance on “Fox & Friends.” “I think this is why Virginia’s in play. This is why the president’s here today, because Virginia’s in play. … I hear it all over Virginia. People want strength back in the White House. They want a strong America, and that’s what Donald Trump displayed last night.”The robust embrace of Trump is a departure for Youngkin, who has kept the former president at arm’s length as he cultivated his own national standing. Democrats on Friday morning highlighted Trump’s former unpopularity in Virginia and defended Biden at a news conference just a few miles from the site in the Hampton Roads city of Chesapeake where Trump and Youngkin are set to hold a rally Friday afternoon.But while the state Democratic Party had hoped to highlight themes of support for military veterans, leaders were left having to defend Biden’s debate performance and his place on top of the presidential ticket.“Everybody has a rough night now and then, and it wasn’t his best,” state Democratic Party chairwoman Susan Swecker said in response to questions from reporters. “But I’ll tell you what I also saw: Donald Trump is the same liar he was in 2020.” Swecker said she stands by Biden’s record and predicted that Virginia voters would do the same, noting that his campaign opened five more statewide field offices Thursday for a total of 11.Second District Congressional candidate Missy Cotter Smasal, a military veteran and Democrat challenging incumbent Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-Va.), had been scheduled to appear but did not attend the event. State party spokeswoman Kelsey Carolan said she did not know why Smasal was not there and had not been in contact with her campaign.Democrats said they believe Virginians continue to oppose Trump in a state where he lost the presidential race by 10 points to Biden in 2020. But Trump and Youngkin have been touting Virginia as within reach for the Republican in this year’s presidential contest, citing at least two recent polls that show Biden and Trump running neck-and-neck.Virginia’s GOP establishment — which has a long tradition of moderate conservatism — appeared to be lining up as well. Former Republican governors George Allen, Jim Gilmore and Robert McDonnell were expected to speak at the Trump rally, as was current state Attorney General Jason Miyares.Youngkin’s relationship with the former president has ebbed and flowed as it suited the governor’s needs. When he sought the Republican nomination as a newcomer in 2021, Youngkin praised Trump to the party’s base and refused to acknowledge that Biden’s 2020 victory was legitimate.Once he won the nomination, though, Youngkin wooed suburban moderates in the general election by saying he accepted Biden’s election and by keeping his distance from Trump. Youngkin never campaigned with Trump in Virginia, and when the former president called in to a Republican rally late in the race, Youngkin did not attend.Trump sometimes grumbled that he did not get enough credit from Youngkin for his narrow, unexpected victory in the gubernatorial election. And when Youngkin toured the country for other GOP candidates and cultivated rumors that he was considering his own run for president, Trump became antagonistic, making fun of Youngkin’s name and belittling him.Now, though, after Youngkin’s failure to win GOP control in the Virginia legislature last year put his national ambitions at least temporarily on hold, the red-vest-wearing suburban-dad governor has cast his lot fully with Trump.The governor endorsed Trump in March. And while he did not attend a Trump rally that month — turning up instead at a University of Virginia-Duke basketball game in North Carolina — Youngkin finally met Trump in person earlier this month at Mar-a-Lago.Friday’s rally in Chesapeake marks the two men’s first appearance together in Virginia. Youngkin was expected to make remarks before Trump’s address to a crowd in a rural section of the heavily military Hampton Roads region.This story is developing and will be updated.获取更多RSS：https://feedx.net https://feedx.run