Online conservative figures are throwing a fit over newly inaugurated Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger implementing her policies.
The online right has been lamenting Spanberger’s first week as governor, claiming she was just acting as a moderate while running for office and has now taken a far-left turn.
In her first few days as governor, Spanberger signed several executive orders, one of which ended state and local cooperation with federal immigration agents, a policy proposal that she said she would enact if elected.
Conservatives are expressing outrage over Spanberger’s first moves, equating her to a villain, a witch, and one of the “most dangerous people in our society.”
Spanberger was sworn in as governor last week after soundly winning the gubernatorial race last November. Win McNamee/Getty Images
Spanberger’s overall agenda as governor, outlined on her campaign website, also aligns with her three terms as a House Democrat.
The Virginia-based Lepanto Institute, a Catholic organization, compared Spanberger to the White Witch in the Chronicles of Narnia in a post on X.
A Catholic organization compared her to the antagonist in the Chronicles of Narnia. @LeptanoInst/X
“White liberal women are the most dangerous people in our society,” MAGA activist Laura Loomer posted to her 1.8 million followers on X.
Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice, called Spanberger “a Bond villain.”
Other online MAGA accounts compared Spanberger to a demon. @TonySeruga/X
Republican Arizona Congressman Abe Hamadeh posted on X that “What’s happening in Virginia should be a lesson to all Congressional Republicans. If Democrats regain power, they will unleash the most radical and transformative legislative agenda in our nation’s history.”
“We won’t even recognize our country, and we may never get it back,” Hamadeh, who is known for introducing a bill that would mandate states only provide English-language voting ballots, claimed.
The freshman Congressman from Arizona weighed into Virginia politics. @RepAbeHamadeh
Speaking on Special Report with Bret Baier on Fox News, Josh Holmes, co-host of the Ruthless podcast, said of Spanberger, “She’s there for a cup of coffee, and all of a sudden, we have a Communist manifesto in front of us. This is going fast and furious, but it is how Democrats govern, regardless of what they say.”
Conservative nepo-baby Meghan McCain came under fire for posting a photo of Spanberger during the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection attempt, during which she was wearing an emergency escape hood.
“Virginia is f—ed,” the post, which she deleted, said.
McCain later scrubbed the post about Spanberger from her X page. RelevantPeach3997 on r/fauxmoi
“Screw any and all of you who lied to low information voters and sold Abigail Spanberger as some kind of moderate,” McCain said in a follow-up post. “She’s been in office like 6 hours and is already trying to turn Virginia into Minneapolis.”
Other MAGA figures went further with their criticism of Spanberger, firing off theories about the Democrat governor and calling for certain Virginia counties to secede.
Michelle Maxwell, a self-described “Proud Virginia Constitutional Conservative,” claimed that the Democratic Party is “grooming” Spanberger to run for president and that she would be the “new Hillary.”
“Being governor is just a stepping stone. So while everyone is distracted with Gavin [Newsom] she is the plan,” she posted to her more than 330,000 followers, adding “Spanberger is the country’s problem now&we better not take her lightly.”
She claimed the Democratic Party was grooming Spanberger to be the next Hillary Clinton @MichelleMaxwell/X
Maxwell also claimed that New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who is seen as comparable to Spanberger in terms of policies and demeanor, was also being groomed by the Democratic Party.
Spanberger and Sherrill served in the House at the same time before becoming governors of their respective states. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Imag
“The fact that its 3 counties outside of DC that decide for the entire state should be grounds for the rest of the state to secede. We have no representation,” a producer for the far-right TimCast posted, adding, “Many aren’t even born in America. They’re trying to enshrine foreign control with that degradation of voting integrity.”
That claim was quickly slapped down as another user pointed out that even if Northern Virginia counties, where a significant portion of Virginia’s population lives, had not voted in the 2025 election, Spanberger still would have won the race.
Spanberger won across the Commonwealth of Virginia, not just in the D.C. suburbs. @StatisticUrban/X
Spanberger beat her opponent, former Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears, by over 15 percentage points, or more than 520,000 votes, flipping the state from Republican to Democratic control in the commonwealth’s 2025 gubernatorial election.
