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Virginia Democratic attorney general candidate Jay Jones appeared to come out swinging during a spirited debate at the University of Richmond on Thursday — but moreso against the president of the United States than his own Republican opponent, incumbent Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares.
A tally by Fox News Digital counted 37 references to "Donald Trump" or "Trump" as well as a dozen mentions of "the president" by Jones — who has seen his campaign embroiled in dueling scandals between texts envisioning the murder of a former top Republican and the adjudication of his 116-mile-per-hour reckless driving arrest in New Kent, Virginia.
When Miyares accused Jones of being a politician more than a prosecutor, the Democrat replied that the Republican says "a lot about prosecuting cases, but he can’t seem to prosecute a case against Donald Trump to save his life."
Miyares did reference a singular 2025 case against the Trump Department of Veterans Affairs over education benefits, which Jones later acknowledged.
But Jones continued to slam Trump for "illegally firing" federal workers through DOGE efforts, and claimed 350,000 Virginians will lose healthcare because of the president.
"As attorney general, I can't wait to see Donald Trump in court. I will never flinch or back down from him," Jones pledged.
"I relish that fight because this is about us here in Virginia. It's not about some guy in Washington who's telling us what to do."
‘CONSUMED WITH HATE’: WINSOME SEARS, JASON MIYARES UNLOAD ON DEMOCRAT JAY JONES OVER VIOLENT TEXTS
After several Trump name-drops, Miyares appeared to borrow a line from another Republican president — Ronald Reagan — to verbally shake his head at the Democrat’s persistent references.
"There he goes again," Miyares said. "Fifteen times he said the name of the president. Not one time did he say the name of a victim — that tells me he’s a politician, not a prosecutor."
Reagan famously defused a tense 1980 debate with then-President Jimmy Carter by remarking, "there you go again," after the Georgia Democrat mischaracterized his record on support for Medicare.
JAY JONES’ ‘TWO BULLETS’ SCANDAL OVER VIOLENT TEXTS EXPECTED TO DOMINATE VIRGINIA AG DEBATE
Later in the debate, Jones again invoked Trump, criticizing Miyares for being too cozy with the White House.
"[While] they hang out at MAGA rallies together, I will see Donald Trump in court to hold him accountable for Virginia," he said.
Jones also pointed to Trump’s words of endorsement of Miyares, in which he reportedly said the Republican will never "let us down."
Jones said that should be translated to show that Miyares purportedly works for the administration more than Virginia.
"We have a chance to chart a very different future. Donald Trump doesn't run this Commonwealth. Jason Miyares seems to think that that's who his boss is. He'd rather be Donald Trump's pro bono attorney than do his job," Jones claimed.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.
On "The Ingraham Angle" on Thursday, former Trump adviser Jason Miller called Jones a "special kind of sick."
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