In an unsettling turn of events, Democratic candidate Jay Jones has drawn national attention for making inflammatory remarks regarding the assassination of his Republican rival, Todd Gilbert, and his family.
The gravity of these statements prompted even MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough to urge Jones to withdraw from the race, marking a rare consensus across partisan divides that this situation is particularly dire.
Interestingly, if you rely solely on mainstream media, you might miss the unfolding drama entirely.
According to the Media Research Center, a review of the coverage surrounding the Jay Jones scandal reveals that of all major networks, NBC was the only one that provided coverage, dedicating a mere 63 seconds to the issue.
This glaring omission reinforces longstanding concerns regarding media bias favoring the Democratic Party.
In texts released on October 3, Jones, who is vying for the role of Virginia’s attorney general, made remarks suggesting he would commit violence against Gilbert, connecting his statements to the actions of Adolf Hitler. He even went so far as to imply that Gilbert’s children should be subjected to violence as well.
These texts, originating from 2022, feel even more pertinent in light of rising concerns around political violence, particularly following the assassination of Charlie Kirk. President Donald Trump has publicly called for Jones’s withdrawal from the race.
Just how much airtime did this controversy attract from broadcast networks? A paltry 63 seconds.
MRC analysts examined broadcasts from ABC, CBS, NBC, and PBS from October 3, the date the texts were first reported by National Review, to the morning of October 7. They found only a single mention of the Jones text scandal on the networks. NBC’s Sunday roundtable was the exception, where a discussion was sparked by former Trump aide Marc Short, resulting in a brisk 63-second exchange.
MARC SHORT: In your interview with Leader Jeffries, can we please stop clutching pearls over harsh tweets and comedy tweets? This week, we learned that a Democratic candidate for Attorney General in Virginia called for the assassination of a political opponent and that opponent’s family, yet not one national Democrat has called for him to step down. It’s utterly disgraceful.
Notably, key liberal organizations are beginning to distance themselves from Jones.
Jones has removed the endorsement from Everytown for Gun Safety from his campaign website. Meanwhile, Everytown, which previously donated $200,000 to him, has also silently removed references to Jones from its own site. Strikingly, no public statement has been made regarding this development. https://t.co/Z7fIjzVT4H
— Chuck Ross (@ChuckRossDC) October 7, 2025
It would not be surprising if Jones were to pull out of the race before the week concludes. One could argue that he should have done so already, given the weight of the allegations against him.
Mike LaChance has been analyzing higher education and political issues for Legal Insurrection since 2012.
His insights have also graced platforms such as the Gateway Pundit, Daily Caller, Breitbart, the Center for Security Policy, the Washington Free Beacon, and Ricochet, among others.
You can email Mike LaChance here, and read more of Mike LaChance’s articles here.
