Biden ally tells Spanberger to exit ‘bunker’ as ex-gov renews debate push
A former top official in the Biden administration slammed Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger as wrongly following Joe Biden’s playbook, squandering "goodwill" and allowing the GOP to define her, demanding she "come out of her Biden bunker."
The swipe comes as former Gov. George Allen offered to debate her virtually on the subject of redistricting if timing was an issue in her original rejection, and Spanberger briskly avoided a Fox News Digital reporter who confronted the tight-lipped governor in Richmond this week.
Michael LaRosa, former first lady Jill Biden’s longtime top aide and spokesperson, slammed Spanberger on Tuesday, unfavorably comparing her to former President Joe Biden and calling a Washington Post poll showing her as the governor with the highest unfavorables dating back to Allen’s era "entirely self-inflicted and avoidable."
LaRosa called Spanberger’s fall from a landslide-winning candidate to a controversial chief executive "a classic, but all too familiar tale."
"[She] came in with a mandate and genuine goodwill, and within months, the GOP succeeded in branding her a wolf in sheep’s clothing," he said.
"Instead of confronting it, the governor defaulted to the old 1990s ‘don’t give it oxygen’ playbook prescribed for Biden throughout his four years: duck and cover."
Biden remained out of public view during some controversial points in his tenure, leading pundits to claim he was hiding or stowed away in a "bunker."
LaRosa added on X that ignoring "attacks, smears and misinformation" doesn’t make them disappear but instead creates a vacuum for Spanberger and allows her opponents to define her.
"What started as silly right-wing noise is now a mainstream narrative, and it’s reflected in her first report card. She needs to channel the badass, confrontational Abby Spanberger from that Nov[ember] 2020 caucus call — spicy, direct and pragmatic."
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He suggested she hold regular pressers, get combative with reporters and accept interviews with mainstream media.
"She has to show and tell and climb out of the Biden bunker," LaRosa said, before borrowing a line President Donald Trump used toward African American voters unsure of whether to break with Hillary Clinton and Democratic Party orthodoxy in 2016:
"What the hell does she have to lose?"
Spanberger’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and neither did representatives for Biden.
After she declined Allen’s invitation to an in-person debate on the merits of the redistricting effort — what some call gerrymandering — being put in front of voters, the Republican said Monday he would re-up his offer with even more favorable terms for Spanberger.
"All of this is a bit confusing; it's unusual, and it helps the people to hear both sides of it," Allen said of the redistricting referendum while speaking with Rich Herrera on Richmond’s WRVA radio.
Allen, son of Washington Redskins icon George H. Allen, said Spanberger declined his invitation, citing her busy schedule and a pile of bills to review.
He told Herrera that he responded in a letter telling her he fully understands that experience and instead would like to debate virtually, but televised, for one hour, at a time and date and with a moderator of her choosing before the April 21 election.
The last time Democrats held this much power in Virginia, the "Byrd Organization," led by segregationist former Gov. Harry F. Byrd, maintained it for decades. The Post’s poll shows Spanberger similarly swept Republicans out of Richmond but has already lost much of her political capital just four months in.
Forty-six percent of Virginians disapproved of her job performance, while 47% approved, only four months into her term.
In contrast, predecessor Gov. Glenn Youngkin saw a 54-39 job approval at this point in his term, with the highest favorability going to Democrat Mark Warner – now Virginia’s senior senator — with a 78-20 rating.