President Donald Trump has called on Jay Jones, a Democrat nominee for Virginia attorney general, to drop out of the race over disturbing text messages he sent in 2022 that recently came to light.
Jones, a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates, is running against Republican Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, with the election slated for Nov. 4.
Recently, Jones has garnered national attention for text messages he sent back in 2022 in which he joked about having a fantasy of shooting to death a Republican political opponent.
In a post on Sunday to his social media site Truth Social, Trump called Jones a “Radical Left Lunatic” and denounced the “SICK and DEMENTED jokes” made by the Democratic candidate.
“Democrat Jay Jones should drop out of the Race, IMMEDIATELY, and the People of Virginia must continue to have a GREAT Attorney General in Jason Miyares who, by the way, has my Complete and Total Endorsement,” Trump wrote.
Vice President JD Vance also weighed in on the Jones text message controversy, taking to his official X account to declare that “this very deranged person” should “drop out of the race.”
Last Friday, the National Review reported on a series of text messages Jones sent in 2022 to Republican House Delegate Carrie Coyner shortly after he resigned from office.
In the text messages, Jones talked about Virginia Republican House Speaker Todd Gilbert, stating that if he had Gilbert in the same room as Adolf Hitler and Pol Pot and had only two bullets in a gun, he would shoot Gilbert with both bullets.
“Three people, two bullets … Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot … Gilbert gets two bullets to the head,” Jones texted. “Spoiler: put Gilbert in the crew with the two worst people you know and he receives both bullets every time.”
Coyner had asked Jones to stop, adding that “It really bothers me when you talk about hurting people or wishing death on them.”
Jones’ comments sparked outrage from many Republican officials who have called on him to resign. He has also been criticized by Democrats for his rhetoric, including Democrat gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger.
“After learning of these comments [on Friday], I spoke frankly with Jay about my disgust with what he had said and texted,” stated Spanberger, who did not call for him to drop out.
“I made clear to Jay that he must fully take responsibility for his words. What I have also made clear is that as a candidate — and as the next Governor of our Commonwealth, I will always condemn violent language in our politics.”
For his part, Jones issued a statement shared by ABC News affiliate 8News in which he apologized to Gilbert and his family for the remarks he made at the time.
“Reading back those words made me sick to my stomach. I am embarrassed, ashamed and sorry,” stated Jones. “I cannot take back what I said; I can only take full accountability and offer my sincere apology.”
“Virginians deserve honest leaders who admit when they are wrong and own up to their mistakes. This was a grave mistake and I will work every day to prove to the people of Virginia that I will fight for them as Attorney General.”
While Jones’ comments have been denounced by elected officials from both parties, Jones has expressed no intention of dropping out of the race for attorney general.
