Virginia Gov. Youngkin Apologizes For Tweet That Went After High Schooler

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) said on Monday that he “regrets” a post made by his team aimed at a teenager over the weekend.

On Saturday, Ethan Lynne, 17, shared an article on Twitter from VPM, Virginia’s public radio station. The report said that the historian who educated visitors on the history of slavery at the states’ executive mansion had resigned after her office was cleared out by the Youngkin team.

NEW: The historian tasked with teaching about slavery at the Virginia Governors Mansion just resigned after finding the Youngkins converted her classroom into a family room – and emptied her office. Shameful.

— Ethan Lynne (@ethanclynne) February 5, 2022

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“Shameful,” he wrote.

Youngkin’s team lashed back with a tweet of their own that included a photo of Lynne with former Gov. Ralph Northam (D) and a photo from Northan’s yearbook showing one person in blackface and one in a KKK costume.

“Here’s a picture of Ethan with a man that had a Blackface/KKK photo in his yearbook,” said the since-removed post.

Matt Wolking, one of Youngkin’s spokespeople, said that the tweet was deleted after realizing Lynne was a teenager.

“It is disgusting, disturbing, and unbecoming of the Commonwealth to see the Governor and his office stoop to this low, especially on a public platform,” Lynne said in a statement. “They’ve deleted it, but I have received no communication from the Governor’s office.”

Youngkin, who was sworn less than a month ago, acknowledged the situation in a tweet on Monday.

“On Saturday night, an unauthorized tweet came from a campaign account,” he wrote. “I regret that this happened and it shouldn’t have,” Youngkin tweeted Monday morning from his personal Twitter account. “I have addressed it with my team. We must continue to work to bring Virginians together. There is so much more that unites us than divides us.”

“While he acknowledged the situation, Governor Youngkin did not apologize and did not condemn what happened over the weekend,” Lynne tweeted Monday. “I still hope he does, and that he will take time to recognize the culture of toxicity he has created within his first month of office.”