Former White House aide Alyssa Farah Griffin accused senator JD Vance of “straight up lying” about Donald Trump’s stance on Obamacare, a healthcare reform law, during a discussion on The View following Tuesday’s vice presidential debate, according to the Daily Beast.
Griffin, who served as a communications official during Trump’s administration, refuted Vance’s claims that Trump attempted to salvage the Affordable Care Act.“When [Vance] said Trump tried to save Obamacare, I was on Capitol Hill and we were trying to repeal Obamacare,” she said, remarking on her firsthand experience of the Republican agenda. “I’m willing to admit what we were trying to do as Republicans.”
Vance had asserted that Trump could have “destroyed the programme” but instead “worked in a bipartisan way to ensure that Americans had access to affordable care.” Griffin strongly disagreed, calling his comments a blatant falsehood. Co-host Joy Behar weighed in, calling on Vance’s “slickness” and comparing him to a seller of counterfeit luxury bags. She noted she had never witnessed such “straight-faced” lying, suggesting that Trump might feel “jealous” of Vance’s ability to maintain composure while delivering similar talking points.
Despite her criticism of Vance’s honesty, Griffin acknowledged that he outperformed governor Tim Walz during the debate. “From a performance and delivery perspective, Tim Walz had the rockier night,” she commented. “JD Vance strategically went in to do midwestern nice to disarm Tim Walz, and Tim Walz kind of took the bait. He wasn’t in fighting mode.”
Griffin pointed out that Walz missed opportunities to capitalise on key moments during the debate. However, she maintained that Vance’s performance did not alter her opinion of him. “Performance-wise, [Vance] is eloquent; he can feign empathy,” she said.