'I’m just not going to participate!' MAGA lawmaker accuses CNN host of 'trying to trap' her

01 August

CNN ‘Inside Politics’ host Manu Raju (left) and Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (right), image courtesy of YouTube / Screengrab.

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears was short on direct answers in a Friday interview with CNN ‘Inside Politics’ host Manu Raju.

Earle-Sears is the Republican nominee in the 2025 Virginia gubernatorial election, but Democratic nominee Abigail Spanberger has outraised Earle-Sears by nearly $5 million in the second quarter and had more than three times as much cash on hand at the end of June, according to CNN. CNN added that one recent poll found Earle-Sears trailing Spanberger by double digits.

Republicans in her own party are skeptical that she can win the governor’s seat, with conservative radio host John Fredericks saying her “campaign apparatus has been abysmal and they need to turn that around.”

President Donald Trump himself has not openly endorsed Earle-Sears, and Raju asked Earle-Sears if an endorsement was forthcoming.

“… The president will make certain decisions,” Earle-Sears said. “I’ve already met with him and that’s as far as I’m going to go.”

Raju then attempted to play an old clip of the lieutenant governor publicly admitting Trump had lost the 2020 race against Joe Biden, and asked if her past frankness was the reason behind Trump’s unwillingness to endorse.

“I’m not going to talk to you about the things that he and I have spoken about,” she answered and then spent the brunt of the 12-minute interview refusing to take questions and accusing Raju of working for the Democratic Party. She also accused Raju of “trying to trap” her and said “that is not why I'm here.”

“No, I’m not,” Raju replied.

“Yes, you are, and I'm from a third world country where I've seen this happen," she said. "I did not think that here in America we would be talking like this.”

Earle-Sears also took issue with Raju asking her what she thought of the hundreds of thousands of federal workers, many of them Virginians, who have lost their jobs under the Trump administration.

“You know, I'm glad you asked this question because your side — I’m assuming your side of the aisle — they keep talking about this,” Earle-Sears said.

“So, do you support the president's purge of the federal workforce? Yes or no?” Raju asked.

“Oh, okay. If this is the way you want to go, then go ahead," she shot back. "But I'm just not going to participate, okay?”

Watch the video below, or by clicking here.

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