The Virginia Republican Party went full Trump on Monday, asserting that Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam’s social isolation orders are “not about your health.”
The state party recently called for Northam to “begin the process of reopening Virginia.” But in a press release Monday, they went further, implying that Northam’s actions weren’t done to protect public health. The governor recently announced the extension of his order closing non-essential businesses.
“When the State shuts down thousands of private businesses but doesn’t lay off a single government employee, it’s not about your health,” the press release reads. “When the State bans dentists because its unsafe, but deems an abortion safe, it’s not about your health.”
Monday’s press release also warned readers that Northam would try to “enchant you with a canned ‘now is not the time for partisanship’ answer in his Eastern Shore drawl.”
The state party cited Trump’s tweet on Friday calling to “LIBERATE VIRGINIA” as well as Michigan and Minnesota, saying that the Democratic-led states had been “subjected to the tyrannical rule of incompetent liberal governors.”
A handful of protesters against Northam’s order gathered in Richmond the day prior — far less than the “thousands” that organizers said they expected to show up.
“I do not have time to involve myself in Twitter wars,” Northam said Friday of Trump’s tweet.
