Senator Kaine Talks About Decision To Back Jones
There’s a certain kind of shamelessness in politics that almost deserves its own wing in the Smithsonian. Sen. Tim Kaine’s recent defense of Virginia attorney general candidate Jay Jones might just qualify as a new exhibit — a rare artifact in the museum of political absurdity.
Let’s set the scene: Jones, a Democrat and former state lawmaker, is trying to unseat Republican Attorney General Jason Miyares. That campaign, already tight, took a hard turn when past text messages from Jones came to light.
Not off-color jokes. Not poorly-worded policy blurbs. No — we’re talking about texts expressing hopes that more police officers would be shot and killed, and that then-Speaker Todd Gilbert would die and suffer the tragedy of losing his children to gun violence, just so he’d change his mind on gun control.
Tim Kaine is asked if a Republican sent the same texts that Jay Jones did, would he call on them to drop out of the race?
Kaine: "Absolutely not."
The insane Democrat lies and spin to cover for this deranged lunatic continue. pic.twitter.com/p48mpSyWMU
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) October 19, 2025
If those words had come from a Republican candidate, especially one running for attorney general, the media and political class would’ve lit themselves on fire in front of the Capitol. MSNBC would have a chyron titled “America’s Descent into Fascism,” and there would be more press conferences than a UFO hearing.
But Jones? He’s apparently found absolution in a hasty apology and the assurances of Tim Kaine, who assures us with a straight face that this was “out of character” — from someone he’s known since the guy was 11 years old.
That’s right. Kaine wants us to believe that this man — who once sent deeply violent and vengeful messages in the context of a serious public safety debate — is a misunderstood soul with a bright future in enforcing the law.
Then comes the coup de grâce: when asked by Meet the Press host Kristen Welker if he’d feel the same way if Jones were a Republican, Kaine had the audacity to say, “No.” As in, no, he wouldn’t feel differently. As if a Democrat wishing death on a political opponent and cheering for the slaughter of police officers is somehow morally symmetrical with... well, anything a Republican has ever been accused of. It’s so farcical that even Welker seemed stunned he said it out loud.
The larger tragedy, however, is that Kaine’s defense isn’t some isolated PR blunder — it reflects the broader rot in today’s Democratic leadership. Words that would disqualify any Republican from public life are now just another speed bump for Democrats who check the right ideological boxes. And worse, Jones raised half a million dollars in 24 hours after the debate. That’s not a glitch in the system. That’s the system working exactly as designed.