Just as a new Washington Post-Schar School poll shows just 36 percent of Virginia voters approve of Donald Trump – and a majority strongly disapprove – Ed Gillespie has been busy further aligning himself with Trump.
In a recent interview on conservative radio, former lobbyist Gillespie bragged about his close ties to the Trump administration, claiming he has “a lot of friends, obviously, working in this administration – in the White House.” He also came out in favor of a Trump-like hard line immigration policy, pledging to deny DREAMers access to in-state tuition, making it harder for Virginia students to get ahead.
American Bridge spokesperson Lizzy Price made the following statement:
“Ed Gillespie has closely tied himself to the Trump administration, supporting him at nearly every turn. But Gillespie’s lobbyist friends in the White House can’t save him from Donald Trump’s sinking ship of collusion, chaos, and backwards policies that will hurt Virginians’ pocketbooks. Virginia voters will remember Gillespie’s unwavering Trump loyalty in November.”
Transcript: GILLESPIE: “I have a lot of friends, obviously, working in this administration – in the White House. And it is important for a governor of Virginia, given our reliance on federal spending and federal programs to be able to get things done for Virginia relative to – for example, you know, we need to build more ships in Newport News. We need Norfolk to remain the largest naval base in the world. We’ve got to stop the war on coal in Southwest Virginia. We need to be able to develop our deep-sea resources of oil and gas off of our coast. We need to get more of our transportation dollars back into Virginia and to spend them as we see fit. I do have the ability to work with a Republican House and a Republican Senate and a Republican administration. I will get my calls returned. You know, I was not fired from the Trump campaign during the course of last year. I was with Vice President Mike Pence, for example, at his historic appearance at the March for Life. Reince Priebus is a former RNC chairman, as am I. The ability to, on behalf of the people of Virginia, affect these federal policies in a way that’s good for us is an important characteristic for our next governor.” [Ed Gillespie on Larry O’Conner Show WMAL, 5/10/2017]
Majority Of Virginia Voters Strong Disapprove Of Trump, Gillespie Seen as Best Trump Supporter of GOP Candidates for Governor. According to Washington Post, “Gillespie is seen as the best Trump supporter of the three by 37 percent […] The president’s approval rating among all Virginia residents is 36 percent [. …] What’s more, while some 20 percent of Virginians strongly approve of President Trump’s job performance, 52 percent strongly disapprove.” [Washington Post, 05/15/17]
Published: May 16, 2017