In the call, President Donald Trump praises Ed Gillespie and trashes Democratic candidate Ralph Northam. | Andrew Harnik/AP Trump in new robo-call: 'Gillespie will help make America great again'

President Donald Trump has released a late robo-call expressing his support for Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie, according to a Republican familiar with the move.

In the call, Trump praises Gillespie and trashes Democratic candidate Ralph Northam.


“Hello, this is President Donald Trump, and so importantly I need you to vote for Ed Gillespie to be your new governor of Virginia,” Trump says in the call. “If you let Ralph Northam be governor, he will be a total disaster for your state. Northam is weak on crime, weak on immigration, and as your lieutenant governor, Northam has driven your economy right into a ditch, and he didn’t even show up to the most important meetings. He was always missing and nowhere to be found.”

Trump adds: “Like me, Ed is tough on crime and on the border. Ed will protect your family from crime, drugs and violence — something Northam will never do. And Ed loves the vets, loves the military, and loves your Second Amendment. With your help, Ed Gillespie will help make America great again, a phrase that I like a lot. Vote Ed Gillespie."

POLITICO Playbook newsletter Sign up today to receive the #1-rated newsletter in politics Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

An initial wave of calls went out to a smaller universe of voters on Monday night, and another wave was sent to a larger group on Tuesday.

Gillespie has engaged in a delicate balancing act. He has kept Trump at arm’s length, refusing to campaign with the president in a state where Trump is unpopular. But, in an effort to draw the president’s conservative backers to the polls, the candidate has also championed some of the positions Trump has embraced. Gillespie aired TV ads vowing to combat the MS-13 gang and to preserve the state’s confederate monuments.

