Julia Rendleman/Reuters
- President Donald Trump slammed Virginia's Democratic candidate for governor.
- He said Ralph Northam is "weak" on crime and the economy.
- Virginia has a heated race over whether or not to keep Confederate statues.
- Northam's campaign features an ad where a truck with his opponent's stickers on it runs down minority children.
President Donald Trump took time out of his trip to Asia to weigh in on Virginia's gubernatorial election taking place on Tuesday, slamming Democratic candidate Ralph Northam as "weak."
"Ralph Northam will allow crime to be rampant in Virginia. He's weak on crime, weak on our GREAT VETS, Anti-Second Amendment.... and has been horrible on Virginia economy," tweeted Trump on Tuesday morning.
Northam heads to the polls with a slight edge over opponent Ed Gillespie, who has targeted Northam over his opposition to statues depicting leaders of the Confederate movement during the Civil War.
In Charlottesville, Virginia, a rally to protect such a statue hosted thousands of white nationalists and resulted in the death of a young woman who was counter-protesting.
Trump condemned the white nationalists in a heated press conference after the rally but praised the rally organizers for getting a permit and said there were "many fine people" on both sides of the standoff.
Northam's boosters engaged in their own heated rhetoric by airing a commercial showing a truck with Gillespie stickers running down minority children.
Northam and Gillsepie are facing off for current Governor Terry McAuliffe's seat in one of a handful of local elections across the country on Tuesday.