This article was written and originally published by Brandon Jarvis on September 16, 2024. Brandon is the author of the Virginia Political Newsletter, Virginia Scope, which is available on Substack. It has been republished here with his permission.
VA-07 Democratic nominee Eugene Vindman is facing backlash after one of his family members mocked an alleged second assassination attempt against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
After it was reported that shots were fired in the area around Trump on Sunday, Rachel Vindman, the wife of Alexander Vindman, who is the twin brother of Eugene, took to social media with her comments that angered Republicans.
“No ears were harmed. Carry on with your Sunday afternoon,” she posted on X to her more than 475 thousand followers. This was a humorous reference to the first assassination attempt against Trump when only his ear was injured.
“Sorry you’re triggered,” she continued, adding laughing emojis. “I mean no I’m not. I don’t care a little bit.”
She followed up with another post after replies to her first two received pushback.
“Trump has been inciting violence against his enemies for years,” she wrote. “He douses a situation in gasoline, lights a match, & walks away claiming no responsibility. Look at what is happening in Springfield, OH right now but he wants to claim he’s a victim. You cannot have it both ways.”
Derrick Anderson, the Republican candidate in VA-07, immediately called on Eugene to denounce Rachel’s comments.
“Violence against any elected official should never be celebrated or dismissed,” he said in a press release. “This is now the second assassination attempt on former President Trump in a few weeks. Our country needs to continue to work to come together, as one, and be united against the challenges we face both at home and abroad. My opponent, Yevgeny Vindman, has called for lowering the political temperature of this country — so will he denounce these terrible statements from his family member and supporter?”
Vindman’s campaign says he can only comment for himself.
He did denounce political violence in a post on X.
“I am deeply disturbed by yet another attempt of political violence in our nation,” he wrote. “I am grateful that no one is hurt, and thankful for the law enforcement agents who acted bravely and swiftly in the line of duty.”
The NRCC is also calling on Vindman to denounce Rachel’s comments.
“Eugene has never had a problem holding his tongue on Trump before, and this time should be no different,” said NRCC spokeswoman Delanie Bomar. “Why won’t he condemn this inflationary political rhetoric from his family?”
Alexander jumped into the mix on X defending his wife and family from the backlash.
“For my family MAGA extremism & Donald Tump are personal; he/they incite political violence against us time & again,” he wrote. “20+ years of military service, including combat and serving as a military attache in Russia, it is Trump who puts me and my family in the greatest danger. Only one presidential candidate, Donald Trump, has called for persecution and violence against his opponents. Trump has provided the permission for political violence and likely engendered, from the mentally ill, the attacks on himself. We don’t need to go back to that chaos!”
Eugene and Alexander have an unpleasant history with Trump.
They served on the National Security Council (NSC) together when Trump was president. Alexander listened to Trump’s phone call with Ukraine’s president when he attempted to extort information about Joe Biden. Alexander and Eugene reported the call together, which resulted in Trump’s first impeachment hearing.
Trump fired them both after he was acquitted.
Anderson released a second statement Monday morning after Eugene declined to denounce the comments from Rachel.
“My opponent has now refused to condemn the horrible statements by his family members and political advisors,” he said in a pressed release. “In fact, the Vindman family has actually doubled and tripled down on their hateful rhetoric and are now justifying the second failed assassination attempt on Trump. A dangerous precedent. While my opponent is failing the leadership and decency test as we speak, I will always stand up to do what is right for this district — my home, the place that raised me. The American people must be our priority over partisan politics right now.”
This is not the first time that Rachel has been involved in drama that impacts Eugene’s campaign.
When Eugene first announced he was running, he received pushback from local electeds for what they said was his lack of presence in the community before his run for Congress.
Del. Josh Cole, D-Stafford, posted on social media after Vindman launched his campaign last year.
“I’m sorry – who is this? I’ve never seen this person in our area. At. All,” he wrote.
Rachel pushed back on Cole’s posts.
“Don’t you dare,” she responded. “This person you don’t know served his country in uniform his entire adult life and therefore was prohibited from participating in politics.”
“I will attack you every fucking time you attack them for their lack of participation because it is discrimination against members of the military and their families,” she continued. “Rachel Vindman has entered this fight and I will make sure you are sorry.”
Rachel announced Monday at 11:10 a.m. that she deleted the original post mocking the alleged assassination attempt on Trump.
“I have deleted my tweet,” she wrote. “It was flippant & political violence is a serious issue. Whether it’s aimed at a former president, the media, immigrants, or political “enemies” & every incident should be addressed appropriately if we want to change the tenor of our political discourse. With social media it’s easy to say the wrong thing and then walk away, but if words matter for some they should matter for all. I don’t always get it right the first time. I’m grateful to all who have supported us throughout the past five years.”