Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger has been given fits by conservative figures online as she implements her policies.
The online right has bemoaned Spanberger’s first week as governor, claiming she acted as a moderate during her run for office and has now taken a far left turn.
In her first few days as governor, Spanberger signed several executive orders, one of which ended state and local cooperation with federal immigration agents, a policy proposal she said she would implement if elected.
Conservatives are expressing outrage at Spanberger’s first move, likening her to a villain, a witch and one of the “most dangerous people in our society”.
Spanberger was sworn in as governor last week after a landslide victory in the governor’s race last November. / Win McNamee / Getty Images
Spanberger’s overall agenda as governor, outlined on his campaign website, also aligns with his three terms as a House Democrat.
The Virginia-based Lepanto Institute, a Catholic organization, compared Spanberger to the White Witch in the Chronicles of Narnia in a post on X.
A Catholic organization compared him to the antagonist in the Chronicles of Narnia. / @LeptanoInst/X
“White liberal women are the most dangerous people in our society,” mega activist Laura Loomer posted to her 1.8 million followers on X.
Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, called Spanberger a “Bond villain.”
Other online MAGA accounts compared Spanberger to a monster. / @TonySeruga/X
Republican Arizona Congressman Abe Hamadeh posted on X that “What’s happening in Virginia should be a lesson to all congressional Republicans. If Democrats regain power, they will unleash the most radical and transformative legislative agenda in our nation’s history.”
“We don’t even recognize our country, and we’ll never get it back,” claimed Hamadeh, known for introducing a bill mandating that states provide only English-language voting ballots.
Arizona’s new congressman weighs in on Virginia politics. / @RepAbeHamadeh
speaking in Special report with Brett Baer On Fox News, Josh Holmes, co-host merciless The podcast said of Spanberger, “She’s there for a cup of coffee, and all of a sudden, we have the Communist Manifesto in front of us. It’s going fast and furious, but that’s how the Democrats are going to govern, no matter what they say.”
Conservative napo-baby Meghan McCain came under fire for posting a photo of Spanberger during the Jan. 6 Capitol coup attempt, in which she was wearing an emergency escape hood.
“Virginia is f—ed,” the post, which she deleted, said.
McCain later scrubbed the post about Spanberger from his X page. RelevantPeach3997 at /r/fauxmoi
“Scrap any and all who lie to low-information voters and sell Abigail Spanberger as some kind of moderate,” McCain said in a follow-up post. “She’s been in the office for like 6 hours and is trying to turn Virginia into Minneapolis.”
Other MAGA figures stepped up with criticism of Spanberger, dismissing theories about the Democrat governor and calling for some Virginia counties to secede.
Michelle Maxwell, a self-described “proud Virginia constitutional conservative,” claimed that the Democratic Party was “grooming” Spanberger for the presidential nomination and that she would be “the new Hillary.”
“Being governor is just a stepping stone. That’s why everyone is upset with Gavin [Newsom] She is the plan,” she posted to her more than 330,000 followers, adding, “Spanberger is the country’s problem right now and we better not take her lightly.”
She claims the Democratic Party is grooming Spanberger to become the next Hillary Clinton / @MichelleMaxwell/X.
Maxwell also claimed that New Jersey Governor Mickey Sherrill, who can be compared to Spanberger in terms of policy and demeanor, was also being looked after by the Democratic Party.
Spanberger and Sherrill served in the House at the same time before becoming governors of their respective states. / Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images
“The fact that the 3 counties outside of DC that decide for the entire state should be the basis for the rest of the state. We have no representation,” posted a producer for the far-right TeamCast, “many aren’t even born in America. They are trying to establish foreign control with the erosion of voting integrity.”
That claim was quickly debunked as another user pointed out that Spanberger would still have won the race even if northern Virginia counties, where a significant portion of Virginia’s population resides, had not voted in the 2025 election.
Spanberger won in the Commonwealth of Virginia, not just in the D.C. suburbs. / @StatisticUrban/X
Spanberger defeated her opponent, former Lt. Governor Winsom Earle-Sears, by 15 percentage points, or more than 520,000 votes, returning the state from Republican to Democratic control in the Commonwealth’s 2025 gubernatorial election.
Despite their recent outrage over Spanberger, Virginia Republicans cast heavy doubt on Earl Sears’ candidacy, as she revealed repeatedly during interviews, and Trump dropped her in a high-profile race, withholding her support.
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