Video News Clips: In Their Own Words

‘He Should Step Out’: Ex-Biden Official Torches Democrat AG Candidate Over Disgusting Texts

Screenshot/Rumble/Fox News

Former Biden administration official Meghan Hays condemned Democratic Virginia Attorney General candidate Jay Jones on Monday over violent texts he sent in 2022.

Jones’ texts with Republican Virginia House Del. Carrie Coyner about shooting then-Virginia House of Delegates Speaker Todd Gilbert surfaced on Friday, prompting calls for him to end his campaign. Hays joined the calls on Fox News’ “America Reports,” saying Democrats still supporting Jones are hurting their party’s reputation.

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“I never thought that I would say this on Fox about agreeing with [White House press secretary] Karoline Leavitt or [President] Donald Trump, but he should not be in the race,” Hays said. “I mean, people can vote for him if they want to vote for him, if he’s going to stay in. It’s abhorrent language. It’s disgusting. He should not be in the race. It makes the Democratic Party look bad by not condemning this.”

“It’s just not something that I think that Democrats want to stand for or should be standing for, and most Democrats do not stand for,” she added. “So I think there needs to be a tone change here. And I’m not from Virginia … I just think that there’ll be probably more people calling for him to drop out soon.”

While Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger denounced the texts, she has not publicly urged Jones to exit the race. Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, on “Fox and Friends” Monday, criticized Democrats, including Spanberger, for not pushing Jones to drop out, calling his texts “beyond disqualifying.”

After host John Roberts played a clip of Youngkin’s remarks, Hays said she agreed with the governor that Spanberger should join calls for Jones to bow out.

“I just think that he should step out of this race much before the people have to call for him to step out. I mean, that is like an honorable thing to do. What he said is — he has admitted it’s wrong,” she said. “And I want leaders to admit that they’re wrong … This is very too far. It’s across the line. It is not appropriate for political rhetoric. It’s just — it’s disgusting. And I just — I don’t want a leader that acts like that.”

President Donald Trump also called on Jones to step aside “IMMEDIATELY” in a Sunday Truth Social post.

“Three people, two bullets,” one text from Jones read. “Gilbert, hitler, and pol pot.”

“Gilbert gets two bullets to the head,” he continued, according to texts obtained by the New York Post.