Former President Barack Obama is now reportedly facing a wave of criticism after appearing at a Hampton Roads, Virginia, campaign rally alongside Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger and attorney general candidate Jay Jones — the latter of whom was revealed to have sent text messages fantasizing about murdering a Republican state leader and his children.
Despite national outrage over the messages, neither Obama nor Spanberger addressed Jones’s violent rhetoric during the rally, choosing instead to direct their attacks at President Donald J. Trump. Critics across the political spectrum have accused Obama of hypocrisy, noting his repeated calls for “civility” and “decency” in political life.
“They endorse killing us,” said Florida journalist Eric Daugherty, who condemned the former president’s decision to appear publicly with Jones. “This is the kind of double standard that destroys trust in our political discourse.”
Virginia’s Republican Lieutenant Governor, Winsome Earle-Sears, called Obama’s appearance “absolutely crazy,” saying such rhetoric is “not who we are as Virginians.” Governor Glenn Youngkin also weighed in, calling the event “a great representation of the far-left’s embrace of violence.”
The controversy stems from a series of text messages sent in 2022 by Jones, then a rising Democratic lawmaker, to Republican Delegate Carrie Coyne. In one exchange, Jones compared former Republican Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert to genocidal dictators.
“Three people, two bullets. Gilbert, hitler [sic], and pol pot [sic]. Gilbert gets two bullets to the head. Spoiler: put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time,” Jones wrote.
In another message, Jones reportedly went further, expressing a desire to see harm come to Gilbert’s family. “I’ve told you this before,” he wrote. “Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy.”
The revelations shocked lawmakers in Richmond and beyond. Yet, despite calls from some Democratic operatives for Jones to step aside, the state party and Spanberger’s campaign have refused to remove him from the ticket.
Current Virginia House Speaker Don Scott Jr. (D) defended Jones, describing him as “a good young man who made a huge error.” That defense, however, has only deepened frustration among Republicans and independents, who view it as emblematic of a partisan double standard that excuses violent rhetoric when it originates from the left.
Obama’s decision to campaign with Jones comes at a time when Democrats have sought to portray themselves as the party of moral clarity and responsible governance. The former president has long positioned himself as an advocate of unity, once urging Americans to “disagree without being disagreeable.” His silence on Jones’s comments, critics argue, undermines that message.
Republicans have seized on the moment as evidence that Democratic leaders tolerate — and even reward — extreme behavior in their ranks. As Governor Youngkin said in a statement following the rally, “If a Republican had said anything even remotely similar, Democrats would demand his career end immediately. But when it’s one of their own, they turn a blind eye.”
For many Virginians, the episode serves as a reminder that political civility is easier to preach than to practice — and that even the nation’s most celebrated figures are not immune to the moral compromises of party politics.
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