During appearances on several news programs Sunday morning, Ohio Senator and Republican vice-presidential hopeful JD Vance turned criticisms of his past statements on their heads, impressing several conservative pundits with performance.
Vance, who has been criticized by left-wing activists and Democrats for past remarks over “childless cat ladies”, advocated for what he calls a “pro-family” agenda, saying “our country has become anti-family in its public policy.”
The GOP vice presidential nominee called for “expanding the child tax credit and enacting protections against surprise medical bills for people who see out-of-network providers for childbirth.”
When asked by CNN’s Dana Bash, and answering repeatedly about previous comments on families, Vance pivoted to criticize Harris for not sitting down for an interview since becoming the Democratic nominee. Vance argued he’s had to endure the repeated questions because he “respect[s] the American people enough to sit down for an interview.”
Similarly, on ABC, Vance criticized Harris for her handling of the southern border, saying “she had control over a lot of our border policies…they basically threw open the gates of our country.” ABC’s Jonathan Karl interrupted Vance to contend that Harris wasn’t actually in charge of the border, to which Vance argued she “assumed the title.”
Sen. Vance also criticized the media over its questions and its lack of focus on “issues that matter to voters.” Vance told Karl voters care about inflation, grocery prices, the border, and foreign policy.
Pivoting to “broad-based family policy”, Vance told CBS’s Margaret Brennan that his past comments arguing parents should pay lower taxes with a child tax credit exposed the Harris campaign for either wanting to eliminate the child tax credit or “just being careless in responding to remarks that I made three years ago”.
Fellow vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz also caught criticism from Vance. Vance argued that Walz “lied” about his knowledge of his National Guard unit deploying to Iraq when he ultimately retired from the Guard. Walz is facing serious accusations of stolen valor over his repeated use of rank he only conditionally attained and allegations from members of his unit that he retired to avoid deployment to a war zone.
Tim Walz’s battalion commander and direct supervisor, Colonel John Kolb, shares his thoughts pic.twitter.com/D78ptiVKXH
— Matt Wolking (@MattWolking) August 11, 2024
Fending off attacks from online “white nationalist” Nick Fuentes over his wife Usha, who is of Indian descent, Vance defended his wife’s honor, telling ABC News that Fuentes’ remarks were “racist garbage.” Vance also told CBS News Fuentes is a “total loser” who “has no room in the MAGA movement.”
