In a Twitter thread this morning, following Rep. Liz Cheney’s loss in the Wyoming Republican primary yesterday, right-wing propagandist Ben Shapiro asserted that “winning simply would have required [Cheney] not to act as a front person for a Democratic committee dedicated to lumping together all Republicans and conservatives with January 6 rioters, and suggesting that anyone who would consider voting Trump 2024 is an incipient fascist.” Shapiro then asked, rhetorically:
“Did Glenn Youngkin go along with the idea that Trump won the 2020 election? Did he “go along with ongoing efforts” to undermine the republic? How about Dan Crenshaw in Texas? What they didn’t do is act as enthusiastic participants in a broader Democratic and media agenda.”
In fact, the answer to Shapiro’s question regarding Youngkin “go[ing] along with the idea that Trump won the 2020 election” is…yes, actually. As former Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA05) puts it:
“Your lack of knowledge on Virginia politics is astounding. Youngkin damn well flirted with stop the steal and then embraced auditing voting machines.”
Evidence of what former Rep. Riggleman says? Here you go!
- Youngkin continues call for ‘audit’ of election machines in Virginia (Youngkin: “I think we need to make sure that people trust these voting machines…So let’s just audit the voting machines, publish it so everybody can see it.”)
- Video: In Tuesday Evening VA GOP Governor’s Forum, Candidates Falsely Attack Dominion Voting Machines; Glenn Youngkin Attacks VA GOP For Going With Nominating Convention Instead of Primary (Asked about Dominion voting machines, Glenn Youngkin responded, “Ladies & gentlemen, this is the most important issue we’re going to talk about.” In fact, this “issue” is complete horses***; as Trip Gabriel explains, “Dominion has sued Fox, others for defamation for spreading conspiracies about its machines.”)
- Glenn Youngkin’s play: Forever- and Never-Trumpers (“...while speaking with Axios, he wouldn’t say whether he would have voted to certify the election on Jan. 6 if he were a member of Congress.”)
- After ducking the question, Youngkin says he would have voted to certify the 2020 election (“Virginia’s most prominent 2020 election conspiracy theorist, state Sen. Amanda F. Chase (R-Chesterfield), said Youngkin tapped her to represent him last month at an antiabortion rally in a rural area near the North Carolina border. Reading from a script Chase said Youngkin’s team asked her to follow, she urged voters to cast their ballots early as a way to deter Democratic voter fraud.“)
- After months of refusing to say Biden won legitimately, Youngkin says, ‘Of course.’ (“Since he announced his campaign in January, Youngkin had steadfastly avoided giving a firm answer to the question, going only so far as to acknowledge that Biden had been inaugurated. And he made what he called ‘an election integrity task force’ a centerpiece of his campaign, mailing membership cards to supporters and campaigning with Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, one of Trump’s staunchest defenders, as he worked to win over GOP voters.“)
- Virginia GOP pick Glenn Youngkin’s business pitch for the governorship (“He talked a lot about ‘voter integrity’ during the campaign, so I asked [Youngkin] if Joe Biden had been legitimately elected. This led to several minutes of dodging, mostly focused on the fact that Biden is the president (which is true, but not what I asked) and that we should look forward rather than backward. Finally, on my third or fourth try, he said ‘of course’ (but then added some other stuff, so not 100% certain he meant to legitimize the election).”)
So obviously, Youngkin at the bare minimum flirted with 2020 election conspiracy theories, the “Big Lie,” “Stop the Steal,” “election integrity,” Dominion voting machines,” etc. Just as former Rep. Riggleman (R-VA05) said. And Youngkin only appears to have (grudgingly) acknowledged – after being pushed and prodded by reporters – that Joe Biden IS the president and, sure, he (grudgingly) would have voted to certify the 2020 election. Bottom line: the answer to Ben Shapiro’s rhetorical question, “Did Glenn Youngkin go along with the idea that Trump won the 2020 election?” is *absolutely YES*, for many months, both directly and indirectly, before eventually backing off, grudgingly, from the most outlandish of his claims (although he’s still a big “election integrity” guy). Of course, Youngkin is someone who lies like most people breathe, and clearly will say ANYTHING to advance his political prospects (including a possible run for president in 2024), so keep that in mind as well as you consider anything Youngkin says…on any topic.
Note that Youngkin talked constantly in his campaign about “election integrity” and even claimed, absurdly/laughably, that “Dominion voting machines” are “the most important issue we’re going to talk about” https://t.co/dIFBxdJImL h/t @RTDSchapiro pic.twitter.com/2B5m8v6JG3
— Blue Virginia (@bluevirginia) November 11, 2021
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