Sunday Replay: Glenn Youngkin, 74th Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia

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Yeah, it is. It's deceptive. It's hypocritical, and it's wrong. And that's what Virginians are beginning to understand. And that's why this next two-week period is so important. But what you just described behind is the sad story of deception. I mean, yes, just six years ago, we had a statewide referendum and a constitutional amendment to enshrine an independent redistricting process that came up with fair map. And now we see this power grab that is rewriting these maps. And I'm sure you've seen them, but just for folks who haven't, it is absurd. They're taking Northern Virginia and dragging it into the rest of the state. There's one district, which would be a new district seven, which looks like a lobster. And it's got one arm sneaking all the way down into the rural part of the Shenandoah Valley and another arm down into central Virginia. I mean, I can't help but think about the B-52's rocked lobster song every time I look at it. I mean, it is absolutely absurd. But it is on the back of the repetitive and I think clear statement that you can't trust them. I mean, Abigail Spanberger ran for governor. And she said that... She had no interest. She had no plans to redistrict Virginia. And she said that because she really did need to mislead Virginians so that she could once again make a grab for power. And now she turns around and she's trying very hard to make it seem like this is the right thing to do when Virginians know it's not. And that's why her polling numbers are just crashing through the floor because Virginians are tired of this. pattern of deception. We're going to tackle affordability. And then she signs in to reestablish a carbon tax on top of them. They're going to make Virginia safe. And then she turns around. The first thing she does is prohibit law enforcement from collaborating with federal resources. And then we see illegal aliens committing violent crimes across the state. And now she brings this redistricting effort, which is so partisan, such a power grab, and Virginians are tired of it. And I'll tell you, guys, this is why I have consistently been saying, this is our first chance as Virginians to make our voices heard to say no, no to the deception, no to the power grab. And we are going to continue to have Fair Maps in Virginia. And that's why I've been so proud of my friend Jason Miara is our former Attorney General and the great work that he's been doing in leading the Virginians for Fair Maps Initiative. which is really getting the word out across the state. So if I have no other statement today, it's get out and vote and vote no.

Now, I want to unpack several of the things that you just raised. One detail in this, though, that I also want to just focus on for a second is the fact that they are doing this in what is effectively a snap election, just weeks after they took over, promising moderation and affordability and all that, their first priority has been a snap election to change the Constitution away from an overwhelming consensus that almost all of them supported back in 2020. Abigail Spanberger isn't just someone who's been on the sidelines when it comes to gerrymandering. She has aggressively criticized it as harmful to democracy. And now she is openly embracing it as this power grab moves forward from her party. And I saw actually a very smart political analyst, Amy Walter. She tweeted today in reaction to some of these bad polls coming out for Abigail Spanberger and her popularity. Walter wrote, why is Abigail Spanberger not popular? Voters elected her because she said she'd focused on affordability. Thus far, she's most tied into a thing she didn't campaign on, and one that is definitely not about controlling the cost of living. It's a very partisan 10 to one map. And I just added to that, Governor, Not only did Abigail Spanberger not campaign on it, she said she wouldn't do it, as you pointed out, and then the bait and switch immediately flips and is doing it. I think that that's an insult to voters, given what they were sold not years ago, weeks ago. Well, Guy, this is what the Democrat politicians have concluded, that they will say whatever they need to say in order to get elected. And then they're going to turn around and they're going to run an incredibly aggressive, progressive left agenda. And they're going to try to cement their power any way they can. And that's exactly what happened in Virginia last summer and fall. That we had an Abigail Spanberger who projected this. persona of being a moderate when in fact we know she's not. And then she turns around and does exactly what I expected her to do, which is to support legislation and support initiatives that are going to increase the cost of living, not decrease it, that are going to make Virginia less safe, not more safe, that are anti-business, not pro-business. And she just signed a bunch of bills yesterday and took credit for a whole bunch of economic development wins that we brought in during our administration. And then she turns around, and I think that, you know, the icing on the cake is this redistricting effort where Virginians don't want this. They didn't want it in 2020 by literally two-third, one-third majority. Virginians are a strong believer in fairness. And they know this is not fair. I mean, to take a map and literally twist and pull and stretch in order to get the most. left-leaning urban districts in northern Virginia and brag them into rural Virginia is absolutely crazy. And that's why this has become such a big issue, not only to go vote for a no on this redistricting referendum, but to also make your voice heard that you're not happy with what the new governor and the new leadership from the Democrat Party in Virginia are doing. This is our chance. Get out and vote no.

The polling has been pretty scarce on this question. There's a new one that came out a few days ago, a public poll, that showed yes in the lead by mid single digits, which I think is not insurmountable at all. But I wonder, based on what you're seeing and hearing, is the no side in the realm of winning? Is this possible or is it going to be another frustrating situation where maybe rural Virginians and conservative-leaning Virginians fire up? mobilize vote but northern virginia just sort of swamps it and the democrats get their way is this actually doable beating this thing Well, I do believe we have a real chance, but it's been an uphill battle today because, of course, of what happened last fall where we just saw a 15-point win by Abigail Spanberger and a lot of particularly historic Republican voters not turn out. And that's what we have to get people to turn out. When we do that, we can win, like we showed in my race back in 2021. But the big issue here in this snap election, as you rightly remind everyone, is that not everybody knows it's happening. And that's why the work that's going on now is so important. And I've been really, really excited to see, again, Jason Mears, our great former Attorney General and the great work he's doing through Virginians for Fair Maps. Speaker Mike Johnson's on the road with us this week. We'll be on a bus tour through Southwest Virginia, up through Shenandoah Valley, and then finishing up in northern Virginia with Speaker Johnson and a number of stops. And this is just so important for us to be out and making sure that we are pulling people to the polls. You know, the vote no effort is critical to make sure that everybody hears the message. And of course, what the polling also shows is. is that well over 85% of Virginians don't want gerrymandered maps. They don't want them. And so now it's our opportunity to make sure they understand what voting no means. Listen, the Democrats wrote this language for the referendum in the most dishonest way. They wrote it in the most dishonest way. And so it also requires us to make sure people understand what they're voting for because just an average hardworking Virginian who is busy doing life earning a good salary and taking care of their family and being a good citizen who has not been paying close attention to this might misread this referendum and think that they are voting for a 6-5 map that was designed by an independent redistricting commission when in fact they are voting for this 10-1 map unknowingly. So we've got to make sure everybody understands what voting no means as well. And governor, you were talking about the way potentially to beat this thing. Part of this is turnout and getting the base on the right side, the conservative side, the Republican side, to turn out in droves and to try to overwhelm the turnout that you're going to see on the left. But I think a lot of this could be a persuasion education effort. Because I think that you're exactly right. If people, like the average swing voter who may have voted for you and then crossed over.

four years later and voted for her, a lot of those people would say absolutely not to a crazy gerrymandered map, which is what this is. It's been sold and marketed so incredibly mendaciously and relentlessly. This is something that's been very frustrating to me, Governor, is turning on my TV all the way back to the Winter Olympics, straight through March Madness. I know you're a sports hand. You were watching it. You saw all of this stuff on your TV. We all did in Virginia. Ad after, ad after ad, telling us, oh, it's about fairness and leveling the playing field and isn't Trump evil. And don't worry. Experts say this is fair and it's democracy. And we're fighting back against those terrible red states. That's what they have been saying. endlessly for months on end i have not seen on tv now single lad pushing back in the other direction and you just said it i think the the message is very persuasive very compelling very clear hey virginia we voted for nonpartisan maps back in 2020 we did so overwhelmingly it's good government that's what we chose in virginia and now the democrats are calling a snap election to change our constitution to go from one of the fairest maps in the country to the least fair map in the country to benefit them with the politicians taking the system back over to gerrymandar things for themselves vote no i haven't seen that ad Can you speak at all to the frustration that a lot of conservatives have about how it seems like we're getting our rear ends kicked by the propaganda on the left? Well, let me begin with the good news through what you've just described, Guy, is that notwithstanding the fact that there has been an enormous early spend by Hakeem Jeffries and the progressive left Democrats in order to drive this grab of power, which I continue to believe is unconstitutional, and eventually our state Supreme Court will opine on that, notwithstanding the huge spend they've given, we're in the running here. And that is so encouraging. And that's why these last few weeks is so important for us to have our voice out, to make sure we're on the road, and we're educating everyone as to the realities of what this referendum really means. And I think what we're seeing is folks waking up to that. And that's why I was so encouraged that Speaker Johnson and, of course, Jason Yars, and so many folks across the state are now out. and making sure that the grassroots is mobilized and that the average voter can really understand what's going on here. And your point around those swing voters is critical. And that's what I saw in the polls on Abigail Spanberger this week. She has had a complete deterioration of the middle of Virginia supporting her.

And in fact, she's now behind on independent voters. And I think this is why is because they don't want this. And so we've got a big agenda ahead of us in the next two weeks as we're on the road and pounding the pavement and talking to voters. There is a giant spend difference. And that's just the reality. And it's like that all the time in Virginia between Democrats and Republicans. And that's where we just got to get to work and make sure that grassroots moments like this guy. And thank you for giving the opportunity to talk about this on air with you. But on top of that, if anyone does want to support this, please, you can send money to Virginians for fair maps. And it's going to go to work right away in order to try to get this message out, which is so clear. that Virginians do not want a gerrymandered 10-1 system. You mentioned those really shaky polling numbers for Governor Abigail Spanberger. I saw there was actually a graph from the Washington Post looking at her approved, disapproved numbers, which are now basically dead even, right? She won by 15 points, not long ago, and now the approval rating is down below 50% and on par with disapproval, and that is the worst favorability rating or approval rating split. in the last like quarter century of Virginia governor politics, where you look back at the last eight or nine governors dating back decades, 80 days into a term, she has the worst approval split out of all those governors from both parties. And I think part of that has to be attributable to this fact that she's pursued a left-wing agenda that bears almost no resemblance to what she told voters she was going to do. People may not follow the ins and outs of politics very closely, but they know an affordability agenda when they see one versus a partisan gerrymander fixation, which is what they've decided to land on, right? So, I mean, the numbers, 80 days into your term, governor, you were at plus 15. on approval rating and you actually sustained very good approval ratings throughout your four years and you left office with approval ratings in the mid-50s, some of them up near 60%. Here she is just a couple months into the governorship and she's barely even on approval rating. That has to at least be something of a red flag for her political team. It has to be, but I also think it reflects a basic truth that Virginians don't like being lied to. And that's what happens. I'm going to go back. She said very clearly to everyone, I have no plans to redistrict Virginia. I have no plans to redistrict Virginia. And now she has become the poster child for redistricting Virginia. And Virginians don't like that. And I have to say, as a somewhat new politician when I ran, I had a basic belief that if I'm on the campaign trail and I'm going to promise things to people that I'm going to do, I'm going to go do them. And to turn around and not only not do them, but to do the exact opposite, Virginians don't put up with that. And that's what you're seeing. And that's why this referendum, which is currently in ballot, so you can go vote right now. Rules are open all the way through the 21st of April is an opportunity for all Virginians to make their voices heard that we do not like what is going on in Richmond with this new governor. And we do not like the fact that she lied to us.

And so get out and vote no. And this is why this is not just a referendum. in Virginia on our congressional districts, but it is a national statement that we're going to hold people accountable for doing what they say they're going to do. Yeah, and I do think that there are national lessons to be learned from all of this, which is why we're talking about it at great length here on a national show. And by the way, not only did she say just to remind everyone, not only did she say she had no plans to do exactly what she started doing immediately after winning, she also has said in the past that it's anti-democracy. to gerrymandering. It steals votes from people. I mean, you can dredge up the quotes from her. She was in favor of the 2020 referendum that changed the Constitution in a general election setting, not this crazy, you know, April snap election that we've been talking about. Then there are the other pieces of this crumbling edifice for Governor Abigail Spanberger. And I think these are also themes that resonate across the country. You touch on them briefly, Governor. One is affordability in the economy. And the other is crime and public safety. And she basically said, listen, I'm a national security veteran in, you know, the intelligence services, and I'm a mom, and I care about safety, and I care about affordability. And I'm a moderate and elect me and send a message against Trump. And that's basically what the campaign was. And, of course, a huge focus on abortion and scaremongering on that issue as well. Then she comes in and... It is not just sort of left-of-center tinkering that she's engaged in. Her party has been sprinting leftward, both on the economy and on crime. I mean, we talked about Fairfax County alone, Fairfax County in northern Virginia, where five of the new congressional districts, by the way, would run through that single county. It's crazy. You could have five Democrats all living in Fairfax County representing different congressional districts running through that county if Democrats get their way. But in that very blue county, You've got since December four murders committed allegedly by illegal immigrants, several with long track records of crime, including violent crime. And because of the soft on crime policies there and the sanctuary policies there, governor, those people were out on the street to commit allegedly those heinous crimes. And on day one, this governor came in and said, you know what? That. model of northern virginia we're going to spread it everywhere that's now the statewide policy reversing on day one your common sense policy i just wonder because i know that your plan was to stay out of the public eye for quite some time after leaving office and let her you know the will of the people they've spoken just let her do her thing But you've been almost like forced back into the fray by this gerrymandering scheme. And since you're here and since she was so dishonest, I just, I'm dying to know what you think of these public safety policies that she's embraced.

On July 16th, the hawk lands on Netflix. From the mind of Will Ferrell. Oh, mama. I'm back. Cut him out! Comes a new original series. Get ready. Get ready. That's it. Did I stutter? When an iconic pro golfer. Lonnie. Hockey! Takes one last swing at greatness. You were a big shot golfer. I still am a big shot golfer. No one. Dad, I'm the Hawk now. Will stand in his way. That's how it's done. The Hawk, only on Netflix, July 16th. Well, the first job of a governor is to keep your citizens safe. That's it. There's a whole bunch of other responsibilities, but safety must come first. And she, with her very first action, made Virginians less safe. I mean, we had an incredible template that we established with the Trump administration and collaborating across the federal government in order to go get the worst of the worst. And we arrested thousands of them. We found the number three guy in MS-13. We arrested drug lords. We arrested sex offenders. And she turned around on day one and said, we're not doing that anymore. And what you've seen, of course, is Virginians are less safe. Women killed at bus stops, literally violent, violent criminals here illegally let out and committing crimes again and again and again, 30 offenses by one criminal and yet not held accountable. That is what she did with the stroke of a pen. And that, I believe, violates the first principle of serving as governor. And this is why Virginians are upset. They heard someone say that she wanted to be elected based on affordability, and she turns around and you're going to watch people's electric bills go up. I had put in literally another nearly billion dollars of tax relief from introduced budget. They got nothing. In fact, increased electric bills to pay for pet projects. I believe strongly in public safety, and she done did all of it. And now the icing on the cake is she wants to take this Fairfax. county blue literally demonstration of bad government. And she wants to inject it across the Commonwealth, not just into red districts. But can you imagine if you live in Hampton Roads, Virginia, and whether you're a Democrat and independent or a Republican, and your congressional representative lives in northern Virginia? I mean, it is absolute insanity. And this is why I firmly believe that this next two-week period as Virginians fully get focused on how wrong this is. We have a real shot, real shot of closing this gap. We've got to get everybody out. And again, the work in Virginians for fair map that Jason Miaris has been. has been monumental. I want to thank Speaker Johnson for his leadership. He has been really engaged and will be on the road with him this week. And most importantly, I want to thank the grassroots efforts of knocking on doors and making sure that Virginians know, whether you're Republican and independent or even a Democrat, that this power grab and this gerrymandering, which is going to steal votes from millions of Virginians, is just flat wrong. Very important issue on this.

Power grab that Democrats are attempting in the Commonwealth. April 21st is the election day there. We've talked about that a lot. We talked about crime and immigration policies and the hard left turn there under Abigail Spanberger. There's also... the flurry of proposed tax increases from the Democrats. And you were kind of like the guy holding back the deluge as governor there for a while when Democrats controlled Richmond, except for you holding and wielding the veto pen potentially. Now you've got a new governor who's on their same team. And it does not really seem to have much of an appetite to stand up to some of the worst impulses within her own party. I've seen some people saying, well, all these tax increases are just proposed. And she hasn't said whether she'll sign them. I mean, the fact that this is what the animating drive is, right, they can scream affordability during election season. If they then turn around and say, okay, here's our, here's our idea of affordability. Let's tax everything that moves. And she's, you know, at best. kind of ambivalent or silent on these priorities that the legislature, the Democratic legislature is now pursuing, I think that's another worry, not just Virginians, but you see this type of thing happen where Democrats all across the country are handed unchecked power. And on top of that, they want to make Virginia and America anti-business. And let's just be real. At the end of the day, jobs drive everything. And if you're a governor and the Commonwealth of Virginia, like I did during my four years, you must drive job growth by making Virginia the most job-friendly, business-friendly state in America. And what do they do out of the block is they pass everything they can come up with to make it unfriendly. And that is the fundamental difference. We're not talking about philosophical differences here, Guy. We're talking about practical decisions made when you are entrusted by the people with a license to lead. And they are making decisions that are bad for business, that are bad for affordability, that are not making Virginia safer. And by the way, are taking a moment to overturn two-thirds of Virginians' judgments. that a nonpartisan redistricting committee should draw our map, and they want to draw them for us and take it back to a partisan government. It's just wrong. It's just wrong. And therefore, I do believe that her poll numbers have not hit bottom yet. They have not hit bottom because people are beginning to see what this is all about, not serving Virginians, but serving a partisan agenda. And Virginians don't like being lied to. And there's a way to stand up to it here very early on that the Democrats have actually served up. April 21st is that snap election to change the Constitution. This partisan gerrymandering scheme we've been talking about. Before I let you go, just about a minute left, Governor Glenn Youngkin. As I said, you left office quite popular in the Commonwealth of Virginia. I saw you hung out with Sean Hannity recently and you were talking about the future and you said that you have a lot more to give in terms of public service. Does that mean looking?

into the future at another run for public office. Does that mean potentially even joining the Trump administration? I'm just curious what you meant by that. Well, first of all, thank you for asking the question because it gives me a chance to say thank you to everybody who elected me. And thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve the amazing four years that I had a chance to serve and bring so many good people into government. And it is exactly that sentiment, that four-year period where I felt more purposeful guy than I've ever felt in my entire life in what I was doing professionally. And I think we made a huge difference. And therefore, I do have a real openness, willingness, and desire to continue to serve and whatever that could look like. And I don't know when that will come. But what I do know is that I have a real desire to make sure that I'm continuing to do whatever I can do in order to drive forward the president's agenda to make sure that Virginians are well served. And most importantly, that this moment that I had to serve Virginia over a four-year period, hopefully has prepared me to continue to serve. And that's what I think it's all about. And I say to so many people when I have a chance to speak to groups. That in your life, there may be a moment where you're questioning, well, should I go run or not? Should I serve or not? Should I take this appointment or not? And my encouragement to everybody is say yes. Say yes. We need great people to go serve. I do think that folks with business backgrounds bring a whole different set of skills. And that's what I'm encouraging folks, that when you have that moment where you might feel deep inside a calling to serve, say yes. Well, some food for thought there. Of course, the immediate task now, April 21st, vote no in Virginia. A lot of national attention on this for very good reason, which is why we were excited to have this discussion with you. Governor Glenn Youngkin, the 74th governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia here on Guy Benson. Governor, thank you so much. Guys, thank you so much and thanks for all you do. God bless you. That was this week's edition of Guy Benson Sunday replay. For more Guy Benson, go to Guy Benson.com or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. Now, I was looking for fun ways to tell you that Mint's offer of unlimited premium wireless for $15 a month is back. So I thought it would be fun if we made $15 bills. But it turns out. That's very illegal. So there goes my big idea for the commercial. Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. Up from payment of $45 for three months, $90 for six months, or $180 for $12-month plan required. $15 per month equivalent. Taxes and fees extra. Initial plan term only, greater than 50 gigabytes, may slow when network is busy. See terms. Listen to this show ad free on Fox News Podcast Plus on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music with your prime membership, or subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.