President Trump waded into Virginia politics Thursday evening when he tweeted that Democratic candidate for governor Ralph Northam is "fighting for" the MS-13 gang and "sanctuary cities."
"Ralph Northam,who is running for Governor of Virginia,is fighting for the violent MS-13 killer gangs & sanctuary cities. Vote Ed Gillespie!" Trump said.
Northam replied with a tweet of his own, claiming he had been expecting an attack from Trump. He also shared a link for donations.
Gillespie, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, is the Republican nominee in the race.
Results from a Washington Post-Schar School poll released earlier in the day showed Northam with a strong 13-point lead over Gillespie with the election about a month away.
Trump's assertion that Northam, who is currently the lieutenant governor, is a supporter of MS-13 could stem from his casting the deciding vote in the state Senate to allow so-called sanctuary cities, a move which the Gillespie campaign then capitalized on with a campaign ad.
"Northam cast the deciding vote in favor of sanctuary cities that let illegal immigrants who commit crimes back on the street, increasing the threat of MS-13," the narrator in the ad said.
The nonpartisan FactCheck.org called this claim "misleading," according to the Washington Post.