Special to CosmicTribune.com, December 19, 2025

When Virginia’s “Republican” Gov. Glenn Youngkin endorsed the removal of a statue at the U.S. Capitol of Gen. Robert E. Lee, one of the most important historical figures in Virginia’s history, critics say his true colors were shining through.

In fact, Youngkin was front and center as Lee’s statue was replaced with one honoring civil rights activist Barbara Rose Johns.

This Dec. 16 post to X by Youngkin started the outrage:

Today we gathered in Emancipation Hall of the U.S. Capitol to dedicate the Barbara Rose Johns statue, to honor her legacy as a trailblazer, and ensure her story of courage and conscience is a story for generations to come.

You can’t tell the story of Virginia, or the story of… pic.twitter.com/lO7MjFDLmk

— Governor Glenn Youngkin (@GovernorVA) December 17, 2025

Revolver News noted: “To many watching this circus unfold, it looked like one of the biggest RINO surrenders in recent memory.”

Related — Post-election reality check: Glenn Youngkin, the Carlyle Group and Dominion Voting Systems, November 4, 2021

John Daniel Davidson, senior editor at The Federalist, responded to Youngkin’s post, writing:

“This is shameful cowardice on the part of Youngkin. But the place from which this urge comes goes far beyond cheap political pandering. …

“Today, it’s impossible not to see that the purpose of pulling down a statue of Lee is not to redress some historical grievance. The purpose is to get a mob to burn down a city block, or a violent radical to put a bullet in Charlie Kirk.

“The real target was never those in the past, but those in the present.

“But for what’s it’s worth, the reason we as a nation once honored Lee was not because of his battlefield genius. It was because of how he single-handedly prevented the Civil War from spiraling into a years-long insurgency that would have made reunion all but impossible. His greatness was made manifest in his hour of defeat, and that is something worth not just remembering, but honoring.”

One blistering response to Youngkin came from an X account operating under the name “Jefferson Davis,” which pointed out just how badly Youngkin’s post was landing. As the governor of Virginia, Youngkin has a massive follower count. But angry responses quickly began outperforming the governor’s original post.

“As of this posting (8:09AM) my response to Youngkin has more likes, despite the fact that he has far more followers. It is unclear who he is pandering to by stating something so stupid. The fact is Lee is more important to the last 150 years of VA’s history than any other man.”

What in the hot hell is this nonsense?!

Glenn Youngkin in front too, beaming at the destruction of history, a disgrace to Virginia.

Dear “old school” Republicans: study some history. Also, consider that Eisenhower considered General Lee to be one of the greatest Americans EVER https://t.co/H0RGr0ejw9

— Steve Cortes (@CortesSteve) December 17, 2025

  but Robert E. Lee’s legacy looms large, His statue is gone from the U.S. Capitol