NEW YORK — JD Vance, the Republican candidate for vice president, again dodged the question of whether he believes President Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 election over former President Donald Trump during an interview with The New York Times. According to reports from the newspaper, Vance evaded the topic on five different occasions.
The senator from Ohio reiterated his previous stance from a debate against the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Tim Walz, indicating that he is more “focused on the future.” “There seems to be an obsession with the 2020 issue,” Vance stated. “My real concern is what has transpired after 2020, including the issues at our border and the rising costs of groceries.”
His refusal to accept the outcome of the 2020 election aligns with the ongoing narrative propagated by Trump. The former president currently faces criminal charges for allegedly spreading false narratives of voter fraud and attempting to manipulate the situation after his defeat to Biden. Numerous courts, election officials, experts in cybersecurity, and even Trump’s former attorney general have consistently refuted his claims of widespread voter fraud.
During the hour-long conversation with Lulu Garcia-Navarro, the host of “The Interview” podcast, Vance gave indirect answers every time he was asked about Trump’s election loss. He framed the conversation around social media companies, suggesting that their suppression of information regarding a laptop once owned by Hunter Biden may have impacted Trump’s support. “I’ve responded to your question with another question,” Vance remarked. “You answer me first, and then I’ll respond.”
When Garcia-Navarro pointed out the absence of any proof of election fraud, Vance dismissed her assertion as merely a “slogan.” “I’m not particularly concerned about catchphrases like, ‘Every court case went this way,’” he said. “I am highlighting a real issue — the problem of censorship in the country, which I believe had an impact in 2020.”
Vance’s avoidance of directly addressing Trump’s election loss may have marked one of his weaker moments during the debate against Walz, who branded his response as “a damning non-answer.” The campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris quickly utilized this exchange to create a television advertisement.
