US Republican vice-presidential nominee and Donald Trump‘s running mate, JD Vance, has once again refused to acknowledge that President Joe Biden won the 2020 election, dodging the question five times during an interview with the New York Times.
In his conversation with Lulu Garcia-Navarro for ‘The Interview’ podcast, Ohio senator Vance repeated the response he used during his recent debate with Democratic vice-presidential candidate Tim Walz, saying, “There’s an obsession here with focusing on 2020.I’m much more worried about what happened after 2020, which is a wide-open border, groceries that are unaffordable.”
Vance’s hesitation to say whether former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election matches the stance of his running mate. Trump, facing multiple charges related to his false claims of voter fraud, has consistently argued that the election was “stolen” from him. However, election officials, judges, and even Trump’s former attorney general have all debunked these allegations.
During the hour-long interview, Garcia-Navarro pressed Vance repeatedly on the issue, asking whether Trump lost the 2020 election. Each time, Vance avoided the question, shifting the focus to his concerns about censorship by technology companies. He suggested that the suppression of stories related to Hunter Biden’s laptop on social media platforms had influenced the election outcome, costing Trump “millions of votes.”
“I’ve answered your question with another question,” Vance responded when challenged. “You answer my question and I’ll answer yours.” When Garcia-Navarro pointed out that there was “no proof, legal or otherwise,” of election fraud, Vance dismissed the statement as “a slogan”, as quoted by the Associated Press.
The vice-presidential nominee’s evasive responses during the interview were consistent with his debate performance earlier this month, where Walz criticised Vance for what he termed “a damning non-answer.”
Vance later acknowledged that he wouldn’t have certified the 2020 election results but assured that he would support a peaceful transfer of power in 2024 if any disputes arise.
With the US Presidential election just a month away, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump are gearing up and making final preparations for the race ahead.