Glenn Youngkin has agreed to three gubernatorial debates with Democrat Terry McAuliffe, but significantly, he is skipping out on the July 24 Virginia Bar Association debate.
“Unfortunately, the VBA refused to dedicate a portion of the debate to a discussion on Virginia’s economy and jobs, which proved to be an insurmountable barrier in our negotiations,” Youngkin spokesperson Macaulay Porter said.
Porter, in a statement, also said it would be a “conflict of interest” for the VBA to have “PBS NewsHour” anchor and managing editor Judy Woodruff as the moderator, citing a $250 donation by Woodruff to the Haiti Relief Fund in 2010.
The Haiti Relief Fund was a joint fundraising effort of the Clinton Foundation and former President George W. Bush to raise money for recovery and rebuilding efforts after a hurricane devastated Haiti.
To emphasize, bipartisan fundraising effort, 11 years ago.
Woodruff moderated VBA gubernatorial debates in 2013 and 2017.
The rub in 2021: “It would also be a conflict of interest to have former Clinton Foundation board member Terry McAuliffe being ‘questioned’ by a Clinton Foundation donor,” Porter said, on behalf of the Youngkin side.
Holy bejeezus.
They’ve got no problem with the debate coming in late August sponsored by Hampton University, Liberty University and the Virginia Peninsula Chamber of Commerce in late August, the Sept. 16 Appalachian School of Law debate and then an amorphous “to-be-determined host and location” debate in mid-October.
Seriously, the press release listed a “to-be-determined host and location in mid-October,” the kicker being a quote attributed to Porter that the campaign is “in discussions with several entities to finalize a third debate in mid-October.”
Friggin’ joke.
Story by Chris Graham
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