Eugene Vindman Condemns Political Violence While Endorsing Candidate Who Fantasized About Shooting Republicans

The hypocrisy is stunning, even by Washington standards.

On September 12, Representative Eugene Vindman joined his Virginia Democratic colleagues in issuing a statement condemning political violence. This came two days after an assassin murdered conservative icon Charlie Kirk while he was speaking at a free speech event in Utah. “The rise in political violence is disturbing and unacceptable,” Vindman and the Democrat delegation declared. “We are unified in our condemnation of these attacks. It is critical to the safety of all Americans and the health of our democracy that we are able to approach our political differences with respect and without resorting to violence.”

Strong words. Noble sentiments. Completely meaningless, as it turns out.

Less than a month later, Vindman stood firmly behind leftist Virginia attorney general candidate Jay Jones, whose campaign encountered serious turbulence after his 2022 text messages surfaced. In those messages, Jones fantasized about putting “two bullets in the head” of a former Virginia Republican House speaker and wished gun violence upon his children. These are not vague statements open to interpretation. These are explicit violent fantasies directed at political opponents and their families.

Vindman’s response? A full-throated re-endorsement.

“We’re just a month out from Election Day in Virginia. It’s time for our Commonwealth to send a message that we’re tired of Republican chaos,” the freshman congressman posted on social media. “VA, make a plan to vote — early if you can — for Democrats up and down the ballot.”

Let’s be clear about what this means. Political violence is apparently “disturbing and unacceptable” in the abstract, but perfectly acceptable when it comes from a Democrat running for statewide office. The rules apply differently depending on party affiliation. This is the essence of partisan hackery.

Virginia Democrats evidently agreed with Vindman’s assessment. They overwhelmingly elected Jones as attorney general, along with fellow liberals Abby Spanberger as governor and Ghazala Hashmi as lieutenant governor.

Vindman, the former deep state operative who played a central role in Democrats’ first impeachment effort against President Donald Trump, led vulnerable Democrats in third-quarter fundraising. But no amount of money can obscure the glaring contradiction between his words and actions. He preaches peaceful resistance while endorsing candidates who openly fantasize about political violence.

This pattern extends beyond Virginia. In New Hampshire’s open 1st Congressional District race, liberal Marine Corps veteran and former Obama administration staffer Maura Sullivan posed with a man holding a “Veterans for Democracy” sign at a “No Kings” protest in June. The sign also displayed “86 47,” radical left shorthand for eliminating or killing Trump, the 47th president.

Disgraced former FBI Director James Comey posted an image of seashells arranged to show “86 47” on social media. He claimed ignorance about what “to 86” something means, a claim that strains credulity for anyone who has spent five minutes in American culture. The U.S. Secret Service questioned Comey about the post.

The facts are straightforward. Democrats repeatedly condemn political violence in carefully crafted statements, then turn around and endorse, defend, or engage with candidates and rhetoric that explicitly promotes violence against Republicans. This is not complicated. Either political violence is unacceptable or it is not. Either threats against political opponents disqualify candidates from office or they do not.

Vindman and his colleagues have made their position clear through their actions, regardless of their words. The standard they apply is transparently partisan. Violence is wrong when directed at Democrats, but apparently negotiable when Democrats direct it at Republicans.

American voters deserve better than this cynical double standard.