Does this even qualify as a “trick”? It’s plain as day what they’re doing, mocking the neo-Nazis who marched in Charlottesville four years ago and symbolically tying them to Youngkin’s campaign. They’ve got the tiki torches that the Nazis carried in 2017 but they’re dressed in business casual a la Glenn Youngkin himself. The message is that Youngkin is a racist in normie clothing, which has been the Democratic message in Virginia for months.

They’re not really trying to fool anyone, though, right? Only an imbecile could look at this photo and think those are real Youngkin voters earnestly showing their support.

Of course, America has a lot of imbeciles.

Wow. At a campaign stop for Glenn Youngkin this morning, people were holding tiki torches and chanting "we're all in for Glenn." Disgusting reference to the 2017 Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville. pic.twitter.com/AfKcBt5DwK

— Charlie (@CharlieOlaf) October 29, 2021

Shout-out to the black “white supremacist” on the left.

Whether anyone honestly believes those are Youngkin supporters is unknown. Whether anyone is willing to play dumb and pretend for partisan reasons that they believe it is a matter of record:

A Twitter pal is tracking other examples of lefties feigning credulity at this obvious stunt, which reeks of desperation so intensely that some on social media have taken to wondering if yesterday’s Fox News poll on the state of the race might be accurate after all.

Would it surprise you to learn, by the way, that “Charlie Olaf” is apparently Terry McAuliffe’s social media manager?

Would it further surprise you to learn that two of the “white supremacists” in the photo bear a resemblance to young Democratic operatives in Virginia?

Let’s take a look at this gentleman. He bears a strong resemblance to one Camden Layton, otherwise known as the finance director for @vayd.

Coincidence? I report, you decide. pic.twitter.com/CAlX25hPEX

— Alec Sears (@alec_sears) October 29, 2021

🚨 I am now confident that we have identified the woman in this group of political actors as Colleen Wachenfeld, with @vademocrats. pic.twitter.com/qySknRSUrd

— Alec Sears (@alec_sears) October 29, 2021

Again, what they’re doing is so blatantly apparent that it barely qualifies as ratf***ing. Everyone understands what’s going on here. The dirtiness of the trick derives mainly from Democratic influencers playing dumb in hopes of smearing Youngkin as a racist.

After all, desperate times call for desperate measures…

There’s a word @GlennYoungkin would really like to say to talk about black people, but he knows he can’t, so he codes it with “Critical Race Theory.” Don’t take my word, trust the honorable Republicans who made this ad and know how this ugly strategy works. https://t.co/J8Nqqriy0p

— Eric Swalwell (@ericswalwell) October 29, 2021

…and Democrats in Virginia are increasingly desperate. The latest poll there comes from Echelon Insights, which has the Republican up three in a D+10 state:

New #VAGOV poll from Echelon: Glenn Youngkin holds a 3 point edge in the likely electorate, and a similar advantage among all voters.

GOV:@GlennYoungkin 49@TerryMcAuliffe 46

LG:@WinsomeSears 48@HalaAyala 46

AG:@JasonMiyaresVA 48@MarkHerringVA 47https://t.co/gWMEn1VtQy pic.twitter.com/q88wqHzxwZ

— Echelon Insights (@EchelonInsights) October 29, 2021

Youngkin leads 55/38 among independents in Echelon’s survey. Fox News had him up 22 points among the same group in their own poll. The hemorrhaging with indies that Joe Biden has suffered since August is on the brink of turning Virginia red.

Mediaite asked the McAuliffe campaign if they’re behind the stunt outside Youngkin’s campaign bus today and received this unconvincing denial, which happens to track the message of the people in the photo perfectly: “This was not us or anyone affiliated with our campaign. There is one candidate in this race who has embraced white nationalists — and his name is Glenn Youngkin.” Between Swalwell’s ugly tweet and today’s dopey tiki-torch photo op, I wonder if Dems in Virginia have concluded that shouting “Trump!” every three seconds at Youngkin isn’t going to win them this race after all and have decided to switch to shouting “racist!” at him instead. The prospect of low African-American turnout is causing serious Democratic anxiety as Biden’s polling has declined meaningfully within that group as well over the past few months. McAuliffe’s going to do whatever he can to try to scare them into voting. If Trump can’t motivate them, maybe some pretend neo-Nazis can.

For the record, the state Democratic Party also says it had nothing to do with it:

Statement on Glenn Youngkin’s bus stop earlier today: pic.twitter.com/Hw0svCAW9W

— Andrew Whitley (@AndrewWhitleyVA) October 29, 2021

Could be that five young lefties freelanced it. All they needed were the torches and a quick run to J.C. Penney for matching preppie-wear. Congrats to them on communicating in an unusually efficient way the sheer panic Virginia Democrats are feeling right now.

Update: With friends like these, Terry McAuliffe doesn’t need enemies.

Lincoln Project claims credit for the "white supremacist" stunt at Youngkin's campaign event today. pic.twitter.com/h18Sfk5AUC

— John McCormack (@McCormackJohn) October 29, 2021

Did Democrats pointing and sputtering at the tiki-torch display know that the LP was behind it? Or are they really so stupid that they thought it was on the level?