Politics & Government

Wake Up! Virginia Governor Leaves Wild Prank for Successor

A bear in the bathroom and more as Bob McDonnell pranks new Gov. Terry McAuliffe.

After a weekend inauguration, things got wild at the governor's mansion in Virginia, according to several reports, including The Washington Post.

On Monday morning, Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a Democrat, started his day with an alarm clock going off in the mansion at 4 a.m. — a farewell of sorts from gubernatorial predecessor Bob McDonnell, a Republican.

McAuliffe reportedly told a meeting of his cabinet that he was already up before the alarm went off. "But the first lady was not up yet," he said, laughing, according to CNN.

The prank is apparently the latest in a long line of jokes that have been passed from one executive to the next in the commonwealth.

But it didn't stop with the clock, according to The Post, as McAuliffe then found a huge taxidermied bear in the governor's private office bathroom.

A note on the bear: “It can get really wild in the governor’s mansion.”

The Washington Post has more on the pranks that past Virginia governors have played on their successors.

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