Dave Brat Does His Worst

The race for Virginia’s 7th congressional district is one of the closest House races to watch as we head into the home stretch before November’s midterm elections. GOP incumbent Rep. David Brat is neck and neck with Democratic challenger Abigail Spanberger, and if you think the pressure to defend a district once considered to be safely Republican is starting to get to Brat, well, you’re probably extremely right.

During a sit down with a group of incarcerated drug addicts at a local jailhouse on Wednesday, Brat used one inmate’s story about the hardships she’d face after leaving jail to whine about his own upcoming election. Why? I’m honestly not sure. To garner sympathy maybe? Attempt to one-up a group of incarcerated people in the “woe is me” category? Suffice it to say, it was pretty weird.

“You think you’re having a hard time?” Brat said, after Chesterfield Sheriff Karl Leonard responded to the inmate’s testimony by stressing the need to fund long-term prison stays. “I’ve got $5 million worth of negative ads coming at me. How do you think I’m feeling? Nothing’s easy. For anybody.”

“You think I’m a congressman, ‘Oh, life’s easy, this guy’s off having steaks every day.’” Brat continued. “Baloney. I’ve got a daughter, she’s got to deal with that crap on TV every day.”

Perhaps realizing that whining about how rough life is for a United States congressman to a group of people locked in concrete cells isn’t a terrific look, Brat quickly attempted to get back on track, adding “you’ve got it harder, I’m not dismissing that.” (He definitely dismissed that.)

Shortly after WCVE reported on Brat’s jailhouse visit, President Donald Trump shot off a boilerplate endorsement of the endangered congressman on Twitter, insisting, among other things, that he was strong on “crime.”