McAuliffe says Trump's name '13 times in a 15-minute speech' after saying governor's race isn't about him

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A day after claiming the race was "not about [Donald] Trump," Virginia gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe evoked the former president again in a string of Election Eve tweets and couldn't appear to stop talking about him at a rally in Fairfax, Virginia.

McAuliffe often brought up former President Trump on the campaign trail and in the press for months when talking about Republican opponent Glenn Youngkin's agenda. CNN's Dana Bash even joked that she would take a swig of her nearby drink every time McAuliffe said Trump's name during their interview earlier this month. 

And so McAuliffe surprised reporters in Virginia Beach Saturday when he told a group of supporters the race was "not about Trump." It was a "significant shift," in tone, the media observed. 

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Campaign signs for Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin stand together on the last day of early voting in the Virginia gubernatorial election in Fairfax, Virginia, U.S., October 30, 2021. (REUTERS/Joshua Roberts)

The tide appeared to turn back on Monday as McAuliffe retreated to his initial strategy of tying his opponent to 45. 

"Today Trump said that he and Glenn ‘get along very well together and believe in many of the same policies,’" McAuliffe tweeted. "We have rejected the racism, the hate, the division, and the lies of Donald Trump twice. And tomorrow, we will do it again."

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McAuliffe's account later retweeted the message, "Stop Trumpkin!" The Democrat himself referred to his opponent as "Glenn Trumpkin" at a Monday rally and declared he was running against "Donald Trump in khakis."

Democratic gubernatorial candidate, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe speaks to supporters during a rally in Richmond, Va., Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021. McAuliffe will face Republican Glenn Youngkin in the November election. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

In McAuliffe's final Election Eve pitch, a New York Times reporter counted him uttering Trump's name 13 times in a 15-minute speech. The Democrat also predicted that a Youngkin win would be the catalyst of a Trump 2024 announcement.

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As his earlier tweet indicated, McAuliffe has no plans to backtrack on racist accusations against Youngkin, despite being proven false by fact checkers. More than once, McAuliffe has told the press Youngkin wants to "ban" a book by Black author Toni Morrison called "Beloved," when in reality the Republican sided with parents who want to be notified if and when their children are assigned to read the graphic material about the horrors of slavery. 

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Virginia voters head to the polls Tuesday as Youngkin tries to become the first Republican to win a statewide race there since 2009.