Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said Thursday on MSNBC that Republican gubernatorial candidate Glenn Youngkin won because he followed in the footsteps of former President Donald Trump by “lying to people.”
Gillibrand said, “As for the election, I think Virginia was a tough case. I think the Republican candidate lied a lot to the people, to the voters, and really, really, really said things that I think weren’t true. I think parents are worried about their kids. I think parents are worried about schools, and they’re still worried about COVID.”
Guest host Chris Jansing said, “But he did tap into something. He tapped into that fear.”
Gillibrand agreed, “He did tap into fear.”
Jansing said, “He tapped into that exhaustion from coronavirus. And he also tapped into the issues people are talking about when he went and said — and I heard this again from so many voters, groceries are too expensive, he’s going to get rid of the grocery tax.”
Gillibrand said, “Yeah, and he misled parents about schools and safety. And he followed in Trump’s footsteps, lying to people about COVID and what are safe practices for kids.”
Jansing said, “So what’s the Democratic lesson from that? Do you fight back, do you ignore it? Again, strategically with the House and Senate are up for grabs. ”
Gillibrand said, “I think you have to be honest with the American people, tell them what’s true and right, tell them what you’re for, and tell them what you’re doing.”
She concluded, “When people lie like the candidate in Virginia, we have to be more forceful in explaining that they’re lying to you and scaring you, and that’s not what we are as Americans, and we don’t believe in people who are dishonest. But sometimes, it works. As we saw with President Trump, sometimes it works. It doesn’t mean we’ll play the same dirty tricks. It means we’ll be honest and tell the truth.”
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN