J.D. Vance struggled to defend the Trump administration’s selections when journalists requested him primary questions throughout a spherical of TV appearances, with one host getting so annoyed with Vance’s phrase salad, he reduce the interview quick in the midst of one of many vp’s sentences.
Vance appeared on a number of Sunday morning exhibits. Throughout an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s This Week, the host requested Vance about Trump Border Czar Tom Homan, whom the FBI says accepted a $50,000 bag of money from an secret agent in a bribery investigation close to the tip of the Biden administration. Homan allegedly pledged to grant authorities contracts associated to immigration in return for the cash.
“The White Home border czar, Tom Homan, was recorded on an FBI surveillance tape in September 2024 accepting $50,000 in money. Did he maintain that cash or give it again?” Stephanopoulos requested Vance.
Vance tried to spin the story as a “ridiculous smear” and painted Homan as a goal “as a result of he’s doing the job of imposing the legislation.”
Homan has denied the allegations. “Look, I did nothing legal. I did nothing unlawful,” he mentioned throughout a Fox Information interview, however he didn’t explicitly deny accepting the money. The Trump DOJ additionally concluded no legal wrongdoing came about, however when Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee grilled Lawyer Basic Pam Bondi about what occurred to the money, she refused to reply.
“He was recorded on an audiotape in September of 2024, an FBI surveillance tape, accepting $50,000 in money. Did he maintain that cash?” Stephanopoulos pressed Vance.
“Accepting $50,000 for doing what, George?” Vance mentioned. “I’m not even positive I perceive the query. Is it unlawful to take a fee for doing providers? The FBI has not prosecuted him. I’ve by no means seen any proof that he’s engaged in legal wrongdoing.”
Vance went on to name the road of questioning a “left-wing rabbit gap.” After that remark, Stephanopoulos rapidly ended the interview.
“It’s not a bizarre left-wing rabbit gap. I didn’t insinuate something. I requested you whether or not Tom Homan accepted $50,000, as was heard on an audiotape recorded by the FBI in September 2024, and also you didn’t reply the query. Thanks on your time this morning.”
“No, George, I mentioned that I don’t —” Vance began to say, however the present reduce away to a industrial break.
Earlier within the interview, Stephanopoulos requested Vance whether or not he agreed with President Donald Trump‘s assertion that Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker “needs to be in jail” for “failing to guard” ICE officers in his state.
“I’ve seen the legislation. And when you could have a gaggle of individuals the place the police name off the security for ICE officers, I’ve understood that, and I’ve learn it right now in quite a few journals, that that’s unlawful,” Trump mentioned.
“President Trump has mentioned that he needs to be in jail. Do you assume Governor Pritzker has dedicated against the law?” Stephanopoulos requested Vance.
Vance tried to dodge the query by saying that Pritzker “has definitely didn’t maintain the individuals of Illinois protected.” (In the meantime, violent crime in Chicago in current months hit its lowest level in 4 many years.)
“I requested in the event you agree with President Trump that Governor Pritzker has dedicated against the law,” Stephanopoulos responded. However Vance saved dodging the query.
“George, you’re going to maintain on asking this query. I’m going to maintain on telling you that Governor Pritzker didn’t do his job,” Vance mentioned. “He ought to endure some penalties. Whether or not he’s violated against the law, finally, I would go away to the courts. However I definitely assume that he has violated his basic oath of workplace. That appears fairly legal to me. I’d depart it to a decide and jury to resolve whether or not he’s really violated the crime.”
Over on NBC’s Meet the Press, Vance confronted questions on current layoffs of greater than 1,000 federal staff on the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC), together with those that are main the nation’s response to measles and employees who would reply to an Ebola outbreak. (A few of these layoffs shall be reversed, the administration introduced later, blaming a coding error for the wrongful terminations.)
“Through the 2019 shutdown, underneath the primary Trump administration, which lasted 35 days, no federal employees had been laid off. Why are these firings obligatory?” host Kirsten Welker requested the vp.
“We now have to put off some federal employees within the midst of this shutdown to protect the important advantages for the American folks that the federal government does present,” Vance mentioned.
Besides normally throughout a shutdown, together with the final authorities shutdown underneath the primary Trump administration, federal staff are furloughed, that means their work and compensation quickly cease till the shutdown ends. That’s very completely different from layoffs.
Vance tried to say that the layoffs had been carried out “to protect the important advantages for the American folks that the federal government does present.” Besides how is that the case? If the employees wouldn’t be paid through the shutdown anyway, what rapid value financial savings would layoffs convey?
Vance even tried guilty Senate Minority Chief Chuck Schumer for the misguided firings, regardless of Schumer having no authority over federal employee layoffs. “The federal government shutdown inevitably results in some chaos,” Vance mentioned. “We’re determining tips on how to take cash from some areas and provides it to different areas. That chaos is as a result of Schumer and the far-left Democrats shut down the federal government.”
In accordance with a current Ipsos ballot, People largely — by a slim margin — blame congressional Republicans for the shutdown (67 %), adopted by Democrats (63 %) and Trump (63 %).
