In the months since he became Donald Trump ‘s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance has repeatedly deflected questions about whether the Republican presidential nominee lost the 2020 election, saying he was focused on the future.
During a rally in Pennsylvania on Wednesday, where Vance was asked by a reporter about his lack of straight answers so far, he was more declarative.
“What message do you think it sends to independent voters when you do not directly answer the question ‘Did Donald Trump lose in 2020?'” the reporter asked, eliciting boos from the crowd before Vance responded, saying he has answered the question “a million times.”
“No. I think there were serious problems in 2020,” Vance said. “So, did Donald Trump lose the election? Not by the words that I would use, OK?”
The answer was the most specific Vance has been on the subject, and a departure from the series of evasions he has offered about the election Trump continues to say without evidence was decided fraudulently in favor of Democrat Joe Biden.
During a debate with Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Walz this month, Vance was asked about the 2020 election but responded that he was “focused on the future.”
Vance’s refusal to say whether Trump lost was widely considered his weakest debate moment with Walz, the governor of Minnesota, who called the response “a damning non-answer.” The campaign for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris quickly turned the exchange into a television ad.
During an interview with The New York Times, Vance refused five times to acknowledge Biden won.
Trump’s continued denial that he lost the election to Biden is a widely held opinion among the Republican’s base of supporters. He warned an audience in Nevada last week, “We never want to have happen what happened in 2020.”
Trump has continued to say without evidence that he expects his opponents to “cheat” in the 2024 election and has urged his supporters to turn out in numbers to make his vote tally “too big to rig.”
I’m kinda tired of this question continuously being asked of the former president, his VP pick, and his supporters. It’s water under the bridge because the courts (all the way up to the Supreme Court) ruled Trump lost in 2020 and there was no voter fraud. The better question to be asking is will both sides accept the outcome of the 2024 election (or any election going forward).
Trump and his supporters continue to undermine the election process. They’ve never been able to answer why only the vote for the President was fraudulent and not for every other race and initiative on the same ballot. Voting is a pillar in our democracy that cannot be taken away from us. The US doesn’t work like “Democracies” in Russia, Venezuela, Brazil, or other obviously corrupt countries on the planet. We have checks and balances. Unfortunately, for the loser, instead of sucking it up and accepting the results, they cry foul. This is the start of a dangerous precedent where the loser of any given election will claim the vote was fraudulent. This is extremely dangerous and is the start of a complete loss of civility in our country.
Trump’s 60+ times proven lie about 2020 is an “emporer’s clothes” litmus test for his devotees and it’s more than humiliating! If no one left as active GOP politicians can simply embrace the truth and move on. It begs the question, “What will the GOP stoop to to hold power?” I guess we know the answer and that’s why I’m supporting Democrats!