Appearing on CNN on Monday, Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin found himself in an uncomfortable situation. Host Jake Tapper asked the governor whether he supported Donald Trump’s plan to use the military against people the former president labeled “radical left lunatics,” like California Rep. Adam Schiff.

Tapper tried to make it easy for Youngkin by reading exactly what Trump said during a Fox News interview on Sunday. “I think the bigger problem,” Trump said, “are the people from within. We have some very bad people. We have some sick people—radical left lunatics. I think it should be very easily handled by, if necessary, by National Guard, or if really necessary, by the military, because they can’t let that happen.”

Despite hearing Trump‘s exact words, Youngkin insisted that those words didn’t mean what they clearly said. “What I want to just make very clear,” the governor said, “is that it’s my belief that what former President Trump is talking about are the people that are coming over the border…..”

Tapper tried again, directing Youngkin’s attention to what Trump said about Schiff. So Youngkin then tried to turn the tables by accusing the CNN host of “misinterpreting and misrepresenting (Trump’s) thoughts. I do believe, again, it’s all around the fact that we have had an unprecedented number of illegal immigrants come over the border in an unconstrained, unrestrained fashion….I don’t think that he’s referring to elected people in America.”

“I’m literally reading his quotes,” Tapper responded. “I’m literally reading his quotes to you, and I played them earlier so you could hear that they were not made up by me. He’s literally talking about ‘radical left lunatics,’ and then one of those ‘lunatics’ he mentioned was Congressman Adam........

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