J.D. Vance Uses His Wife to Defend Trump Cozying Up to Nazis
Renowned white supremacist and Charlottesville protester Nick Fuentes personally attacked J.D. Vance and his wife, Usha, last month for her Indian heritage, claiming that the Republican vice presidential pick “clearly doesn’t value his racial identity” and is unlikely to be a “defender of white identity” due to his wife’s ethnicity.But even that isn’t enough for Vance to take a stand against the racist rhetoric.In a sitdown interview with ABC News’s This Week on Sunday, Vance continued to defend a dinner between Donald Trump, Fuentes, and Kanye West at Mar-a-Lago in 2022, falsely insisting that Trump had “issued plenty of condemnations” on Fuentes while agreeing that the Hitler-loving livestreamer’s comments about his wife amounted to “racist garbage.”After ABC’s Jonathan Karl pushed back, Vance claimed that Trump “doesn’t know anything about” Fuentes and “frankly, doesn’t care.” (Trump had shared clips from Fuentes’s internet show before the dinner took place.)Instead, what matters to Vance is how Trump personally treats his wife—not the fact that the Republican presidential nominee entertains political rhetoric that makes the country significantly less safe for people of color.“The one thing I like about Donald Trump is he actually will talk to anybody, but just because you talk to somebody doesn’t mean you endorse their views,” Vance said. “Donald Trump has spent a lot of quality time with my wife. Every time he sees her, he gives her a hug, tells her she’s beautiful, and jokes around with her a little bit.“I’m not at all worried about Donald Trump,” Vance continued. “I’m worried sometimes about these ridiculous attacks. This is what you sign up for when you come into politics. I wish people would keep it focused on me. They’re gonna say what they’re gonna say. My wife’s tough enough to handle it, and that’s a good thing.”JD Vance on Trump dining with white supremacist Nick Fuentes, who made racist comments about his wife and Trump has never fully disavowed: "The one thing I like about Donald Trump is he actually will talk to anybody, but just because you talk to somebody doesn't mean you endorse… pic.twitter.com/gB1vr8G2qi— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 11, 2024The interview came just two days after Fuentes shockingly revoked his support for Trump, announcing on social media that he and his allies were declaring a “groyper war” against the Trump campaign over the belief that the candidate was headed toward a “catastrophic loss.”Fuentes’s renunciation hits the Trump campaign at the same time as a slip in support from white men, according to recent polls, despite Trump’s attempts to pander to them this election cycle.
Renowned white supremacist and Charlottesville protester Nick Fuentes personally attacked J.D. Vance and his wife, Usha, last month for her Indian heritage, claiming that the Republican vice presidential pick “clearly doesn’t value his racial identity” and is unlikely to be a “defender of white identity” due to his wife’s ethnicity.
But even that isn’t enough for Vance to take a stand against the racist rhetoric.
In a sitdown interview with ABC News’s This Week on Sunday, Vance continued to defend a dinner between Donald Trump, Fuentes, and Kanye West at Mar-a-Lago in 2022, falsely insisting that Trump had “issued plenty of condemnations” on Fuentes while agreeing that the Hitler-loving livestreamer’s comments about his wife amounted to “racist garbage.”
After ABC’s Jonathan Karl pushed back, Vance claimed that Trump “doesn’t know anything about” Fuentes and “frankly, doesn’t care.” (Trump had shared clips from Fuentes’s internet show before the dinner took place.)
Instead, what matters to Vance is how Trump personally treats his wife—not the fact that the Republican presidential nominee entertains political rhetoric that makes the country significantly less safe for people of color.
“The one thing I like about Donald Trump is he actually will talk to anybody, but just because you talk to somebody doesn’t mean you endorse their views,” Vance said. “Donald Trump has spent a lot of quality time with my wife. Every time he sees her, he gives her a hug, tells her she’s beautiful, and jokes around with her a little bit.
“I’m not at all worried about Donald Trump,” Vance continued. “I’m worried sometimes about these ridiculous attacks. This is what you sign up for when you come into politics. I wish people would keep it focused on me. They’re gonna say what they’re gonna say. My wife’s tough enough to handle it, and that’s a good thing.”
JD Vance on Trump dining with white supremacist Nick Fuentes, who made racist comments about his wife and Trump has never fully disavowed: "The one thing I like about Donald Trump is he actually will talk to anybody, but just because you talk to somebody doesn't mean you endorse… pic.twitter.com/gB1vr8G2qi— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) August 11, 2024
The interview came just two days after Fuentes shockingly revoked his support for Trump, announcing on social media that he and his allies were declaring a “groyper war” against the Trump campaign over the belief that the candidate was headed toward a “catastrophic loss.”
Fuentes’s renunciation hits the Trump campaign at the same time as a slip in support from white men, according to recent polls, despite Trump’s attempts to pander to them this election cycle.
