GOP Vice Presidential Candidate J.D. Vance Sunday slammed CNN host Jake Tapper for targeting the former president Donald Trump over his remarks about an “enemy within” and retired Gen. John Kelly’s suggestion that his former boss fit “the general definition of fascist.”
On a recent episode of “State of the Union,” host Jake Tapper confronted Vance about the former president’s statements about prosecuting election officials accused of fraud.
“You’re taking the words out of context,” Vance responded to the allegations.
“If you wanted to edit a clip and put it in context, I think the American people would understand that Donald Trump is much more reasonable than people think. Liz Cheneywho would like to lie to us and push us into war,” he added.
“Now, Jake, we should also remember, I mean, take a step back. Ask yourself a fundamental question about the integrity of the network. You’ve been talking about the Russian hoax all the time,” Vance added.
Vance further accused CNN of giving credence to unnamed FBI agents and unnamed sources, arguing that viewers allegedly believed in a conspiracy between Trump and Vladimir Putin, which he called “totally and absurdly false.” .
Tapper defended the network, insisting that it was simply covering up an ongoing FBI investigation.
The conversation then turned to comments made by former Trump administration officials, including former White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley.
Kelly had told the New York Times that Trump “certainly prefers the dictatorial approach to government” and claimed that Trump had expressed admiration for the loyalty of Adolf Hitler’s generals, which Trump denied. Milley, according to Bob Woodward’s recent book “War,” described Trump as a “fascist at heart.”
Vance launched a scathing attack on Kelly and accused him of having a “worldview so opposed to peace.” When Tapper asked if all the former officials, including former Vice President Mike Pence, were going after Trump because they wanted to send people to war, Vance firmly agreed, stating that they had entered in office believing he could control Trump when he expressed a desire for world peace.
Trump himself has expressed regret over some of his personnel choices, telling Joe Rogan that his biggest mistake was choosing “people I shouldn’t have chosen,” describing them as “neoconservatives , or bad people, or disloyal people.” He also praised several hawkish Republicans in his orbit, such as former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Following Vance’s interview, CNN aired a rebuttal from Liz Cheney, who accused Vance of resorting to “incredible contortions” to defend Trump, whom Vance had previously called “America’s Hitler” during of the 2016 campaign. Vance has since attributed his past criticism of Trump to a distorted understanding influenced by the media.