Jay Jones: Trump Trump Trump (Sorry!) Trump Trump Trump

Here’s the deep question of the day, or at least the morning: What does Donald Trump have to do with an election for a state Attorney General? Here’s the literal answer: Nothing, or at least not much. State AGs can sue the federal government over policy disputes, but that’s more of an ex officio connection rather than personal.

If that’s the case, then why did Virginia Democrat AG candidate bring up Donald Trump dozens of times in a debate against the sitting Republican AG last night? There are two reasons, but for now Eric Daugherty gives us a brief taste of the event between Jay “Kill ’em all” Jones and incumbent Jason Miyares:

🚨 BREAKING: In a pathetic development, pro-political violence Virginia AG candidate Jay Jones (D) reportedly mentioned President Donald Trump’s name 30 to 40 times across tonight’s 60-minute debate pic.twitter.com/xlOePtlD6D

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) October 16, 2025

Before we get to the why, let’s do a little accounting. This debate lasted 60 minutes, with time presumably split roughly equal between Jones and Miyares. We can generously assume that the moderators didn’t take up too much time, but just to make things easier, let’s assume both candidates got 30 minutes. If that’s the case, and if Daugherty’s math is accurate, Jones averaged a Trump mention every minute of his time, and likely a mention in a shorter average span. 

Virginians must have wondered whether this was a commonwealth election or an average evening on MSNBC.

Bear that in mind when you see Jones’ apology for text messages wishing death on Republican Todd Gilbert and his children. Just to refresh memories:

According to the source, the Democratic former legislator doubled down on the call, saying the only way public policy changes is when policymakers feel pain themselves, like the pain that parents feel when they watch their children die from gun violence. He asked her to provide counterexamples to disprove his claim.

Then at one point, the source said, he suggested he wished Gilbert’s wife could watch her own child die in her arms so that Gilbert might reconsider his political views, prompting Coyner to hang up the phone in disgust.

Afterward, Jones continued his barrage of text messages, saying he was just asking questions. Coyner dismissed his excuse via text and chastised Jones for “hopping [sic] Jennifer Gilbert’s children would die.”

Rather than deny that he had wished death on the children, Jones responded by saying, “Yes, I’ve told you this before. Only when people feel pain personally do they move on policy.”

Last night, Jones tried to pre-empt Miyares by using a trial attorney trick — get the damaging info out on direct examination and hope it’s defused before the other side gets to cross-examine. Jones himself brought up the texts first and offered an apology that lasted thirty-seven seconds:

This may have been the only 37-second span in which Jones didn’t mention Trump last night. As for Jones’ pledge that he would “always be accountable for my mistakes,” his presence on the stage directly contradicts that. What accountability has Jones offered, other than an oops, my bad? “Accountability” would be a recognition that a grown man who texted and expressed such thoughts is categorically unfit for office, especially as the chief law enforcement officer in the state below the governor. What Jones wants is forgiveness without atonement, which is the basis for accountability.

That brings us to the two reasons for Jones’ fixation on Trump. First off, he needs the distraction from this scandal. He can’t talk about his qualifications for office while admitting that he wants his opponents murdered (and reportedly cops as well, although Jones denies the allegations that he said that to Coyner). Rather than talk about himself or even Miyares directly, Jones decided to spend his one debate demagoguing on Trump in an attempt to fire up the Democrat base.

Will that work? That brings us to the second reason, which is that Democrats have no other message than Orange Man Bad. Trump is still the center of their universe, the Elder God who receives all their focus like a bad H.P. Lovecraft knock-off. Even after two years of failure, Democrats still have nothing to offer voters except Trump hysteria, and Jones has even less to offer than most. 

Jones is likely toast anyway after this scandal. The question will be whether his implosion and demagoguery does any more damage to Abigail Spanberger, who also performed atrociously in her debate with Winsome Earle-Sears. Maybe Virginia voters will finally get a big whiff of the rot within a Democrat Party that stands for nothing more than rage and hatred. Jones makes a good symbol for a corrupt and intellectually bankrupt movement. 

Editor’s Note: Help us continue to report the truth about corrupt politicians like Jay Jones, Abigail Spanberger, and all of the corruptocrats and demagogues on the Left. 

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