Michael LaRosa, a former top official in the Biden administration and Jill Biden’s longtime aide and spokesperson, criticized Abigail Spanberger on Tuesday and said the Virginia governor needs to change how she handles public attacks. He said a Washington Post poll showed Spanberger had the highest unfavorable ratings for a governor dating back to George Allen’s era.
LaRosa said Spanberger came in with a mandate and genuine goodwill, but argued that Republicans quickly defined her before she could define herself. He said the GOP succeeded in branding her as a wolf in sheep’s clothing and that she fell back on the old 1990s “don’t give it oxygen” approach that had been used for Biden throughout his four years in office.
“Instead of confronting it, the governor defaulted to the old 1990s ‘don’t give it oxygen’ playbook prescribed for Biden throughout his four years: duck and cover,” LaRosa said. “She has to show and tell and climb out of the Biden bunker.” He also said, “What started as silly right-wing noise is now a mainstream narrative, and it’s reflected in her first report card. She needs to channel the badass, confrontational Abby Spanberger from that November 2020 caucus call — spicy, direct and pragmatic.”
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The criticism lands amid an increasingly public dispute over Spanberger’s decision to decline an in-person debate invitation from former Gov. George Allen on redistricting, a fight some describe as gerrymandering. Allen had offered to debate her virtually if timing was the problem, and on Monday he said he would re-up the offer with even more favorable terms. Spanberger’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and representatives for Biden also did not immediately respond.
The episode is less about one debate than about whether Spanberger can control the story now that she is under sharper scrutiny. LaRosa’s message was blunt: if she wants the political damage to stop, she has to come out and fight it in public.
