“I’m wondering because you had been critical of the president in the past. In 2022, you said this as he was gearing up…” Raju began in hopes of showing a clip of her criticizing Trump, before Earle-Sears cut in to question why he was speaking about issues other than those important to Virginians.

“I’m talking about the education choices that parents want,” she began, before the two continued to talk over each other for around 20 seconds of the 10-minute interview. The lieutenant governor would break the verbal skirmish, continuing to talk about Trump.

“I’ve told you that the president and I have been in the Oval Office, but you want to keep talking about issues that you think are important to you,” Earle-Sears told Raju. She then spoke about how voters wanted to hear about childcare, qualified immunity for law enforcement, jobs, and education as she skirted Raju’s proposition to play her past remarks.

But the CNN anchor cut in to play the clip anyway: “The voters have spoken, and they have said that they want a different leader, and a true leader understands when they have become a liability. A true leader understands that it’s time to step off the stage,” Earle-Sears said in 2022, the year she was elected as Virginia’s lieutenant governor, while Trump was out of office.

Earle-Sears insisted her support for Trump has been consistent. “I voted for the president the first time around, I voted for him the second time around, and I voted for him the third time around. So here’s the thing: who was I going to vote for? I’m going to vote for somebody who understands how everything works,” she said.

The Virginia Republican reiterated that she and Trump have “been in the Oval Office” and had discussions, but did not detail what they spoke about. Raju said Trump is not “shy” to endorse candidates, which angered Earle-Sears.

“You want to talk about the past, and nobody wants to talk about the past. We want to talk about what’s happening going forward,” she said, mentioning that former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, Earle-Sears’s Democratic opponent, voted with former President Joe Biden “almost 100% of the time.”

She then accused Raju of trying to “trap” her.

“I’m from a third-world country where I’ve seen this happen. I did not think that here in America we would be talking like this,” said Earle-Sears, who was born in Jamaica.

The lieutenant governor has been criticized for other past statements, including blaming Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency for killing her campaign’s momentum in June with the federal workforce cuts. Spanberger has often seized on the cuts because of Virginia’s high government worker population.

Raju pressed Earle-Sears on the workforce cuts on Friday, with the Virginia lieutenant governor calling out Virginia state Democrats for not moving forward with a plan to restore some of those jobs.

“We had to send a letter to the Fairfax County chairman to say there was a company that was going to create 800 high-paying jobs averaging $150,000 that would have offset federal jobs that you’re talking about being lost, and yet, you know what the Democrats, who are in in authority there, they said no,” she said.

“Which one do you want? You want to talk about jobs that are being lost when we can continue to create jobs?” she added.

RAJU: I was just curious if you support the president’s purge of the federal workforce

WINSOME EARLE-SEARS: I’ve given you a clear answer but you don’t want to hear it because it’s common sense

RAJU: So do you support it? Yes or no?

EARLE-SEARS: Oh. Ok. If this is the way you… pic.twitter.com/uk1pD8UakX

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 1, 2025

Spanberger, who is ahead in the polls to be Virginia’s governor, quickly pounced on the interview, blasting Earle-Sears for dodging questions about the federal workforce cuts.

“When asked if she supports DOGE taking away jobs from thousands of Virginians, my opponent @winwithwinsome refuses to answer. Let me be clear: protecting Virginia’s workforce is more than a ‘real issue’ — to me, it’s the job of the Governor of Virginia,” she posted on X.

Earle-Sears’s campaign hasn’t been fully embraced by Republicans or the White House. Chris LaCivita, who helped orchestrate Trump’s second rise to the presidency and is a Virginia political strategist, told CNN he “didn’t know” there was a Virginia gubernatorial race when asked.

Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA), who was elected alongside Earle-Sears in 2022 and is still relatively popular with voters, could be key to revitalizing her campaign.

“She’s been my partner the entire time since the day we were elected,” Youngkin told reporters this week. “She understands what it means to drive economic growth and job growth. She understands what it means to stand with law enforcement and bring crime down.”

Time is running out for Earle-Sears to catch up in the polls, with about three months to Election Day, but she’ll get a chance to debate Spanberger next month. Strategists believe she’s an underdog to win.

“She’s pretty clearly an underdog in this race,” said Kyle Kondik of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.

SUCCEEDING YOUNGKIN: WINSOME EARLE-SEARS TRIES TO RECREATE THE GOP SURGE IN VIRGINIA

Kondik admitted the pessimism surrounding her may be overstated, though.

“It’s also possible that the sort of level of doom and gloom might be a little overstated and maybe a little premature because there is plenty of time, but there are just some big-picture factors that were working in Youngkin’s benefit that just aren’t working in her benefit,” Kondik added.