Virginia Lieutenant Governor Winsome Sears said that she will not support former President Donald Trump’s candidacy if he announces another presidential bid.
Sears, a Republican who previously served as national chair of a group seeking to get Trump reelected, entered office in January after winning election in November 2021.
Trump, who is widely expected to launch a 2024 White House bid, said on Monday that he will make “a very big announcement” next week at the Mar-a-Lago on November 15.
During a Thursday appearance on Fox Business, Sears said that “the voters have spoken, and they have said that they want a different leader. And a true leader understands when they have become a liability. A true leader understands that it’s time to step off the stage.”
Sears said if Trump runs, she will not back his bid.
“I could not support him,” Sears declared. She said that Trump-backed candidates have underperformed. “We have a clear mission. And it is time to move on.”
Winsome Sears: It’s time to move on from Trump www.youtube.com
Trump has threatened to dish unflattering information about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis if the governor decides to mount a presidential run. “I know more about him than anybody other than perhaps his wife,” Trump claimed, according to the Wall Street Journal. “I think if he runs he could hurt himself very badly,” Trump said. “I think he would be making a mistake,” he noted. “I think the base would not like it.”
Trump took a jab at DeSantis last week by referring to him as “Ron DeSanctimonious.” But the former president indicated this week that he voted for DeSantis in the Sunshine State’s gubernatorial contest. The incumbent Republican governor won another term in office, decisively defeating Democratic challenger Charlie Crist.
Trump attacked DeSantis in a statement on Thursday, calling him “an average REPUBLICAN Governor with great Public Relations” and again referring to him as “Ron DeSanctimonious.”