Virginia’s Republican lieutenant governor said Thursday she would not support former president Donald Trump if he decides to run for president again in 2024.
“I could not support him. I just couldn’t,” Winsome Sears told Fox News’s Neil Cavuto, just days before Trump is expected to announce his candidacy.
Sears, who in 2020 served as chair of “Black Americans to Re-elect President Trump,” said it is time for the GOP to “move on” after a number of Trump-backed candidates underperformed in the midterm elections in key House, Senate and gubernatorial races.
The GOP appears poised to win control of the House, but by a smaller margin that expected. Senate control now hinges on three key races in Nevada, Georgia and Arizona.
“A true leader understands when they have become a liability,” Sears said. “A true leader understands that it’s time to step off the stage, and the voters have given us that very clear message.”
The lieutenant governor said voters are saying “enough is enough” and America is “the prize.”
Sears’s comments come after Trump said last week that he will make a “very big announcement” on November 15 at Mar-a-Lago.
Sears is not alone in turning away from Trump after Republicans underwhelming showing earlier this week. Murdoch-owned properties, long staunch supporters of the former president, appeared to turn on Trump as well. The New York Post published a cover featuring Trump portrayed as Humpty Dumpty with the caption: “Don (who couldn’t build a wall) had a great fall — can all the GOP’s men put the party back together again?”
The issue featured commentary from John Podhoretz, who said that “the surest way to lose in these midterms was to be a politician endorsed by Trump,” and blasted Trump for “his desperate need to elevate cringe-inducing boot-lickers while punishing politicians capable of an independent thought.”
One day earlier, the New York Post cover celebrated Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s huge reelection victory under the headline “DeFuture.”
On Saturday, Trump said he’s polling way above “Ron DeSanctimonious” for the GOP 2024 presidential nomination, taking a shot at DeSantis, who is widely considered a likely 2024 contender.
“Trump at 71, Ron DeSanctimonious at 10 percent, Mike Pence at 7 percent . . . Oh, Mike’s doing better than I thought,” Trump said during a rally in Latrobe, Pa.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin is also seen as a potential 2024 contender. Youngkin, who did not campaign with Trump while running for governor last year, would not say whether he is considering a run for president when asked by CNN last month.