Watch: JD Vance Defends Trump’s Alarming Comments on Military Hit List
JD Vance offered a strange defense Monday morning of Donald Trump’s recent comments calling Democrats and his other political opponents the “enemy within,” saying Trump’s words are “unfiltered” and “from the heart.”Fox’s Bill Hemmer asked Vance what the former president means when he uses the phrase and why such language is necessary. Vance responded dismissively, claiming that Trump was just being himself.“Donald Trump is unfiltered,” Vance told Hemmer. “I think this is one of the reasons why the campaign has gone well, is because he’s not doing a basement campaign strategy. He’s not just running on slogans. When people ask him questions, he speaks from the heart.”Vance then claimed Trump’s comments on using the military against his enemies were actually in regard to the “rioters” protesting for racial justice during the summer of 2020. “Why wasn’t law enforcement empowered to put down these riots, to reimpose law and order on American cities? That’s to me what President Trump is talking about here,” Vance said, claiming that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz encouraged “rioters” to attack police stations back then. Hemmer then corrected Vance, pointing out that Trump specifically mentioned Representatives Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi by name. The Republican vice presidential candidate quickly pivoted, accusing Schiff and Pelosi of being “really part of weaponizing the Department of Justice against our country.”“I think what Donald Trump is saying is, ‘Look, we’ve got the strongest country in the world. We’ve got the best people in the world, but we do have some broken leadership,’” Vance said, accusing Pelosi of “getting rich off of insider stock trades even as her own country has gotten poor.” “We do have people on the left, not most people to be clear, but some people on the left who are encouraging violent responses to what we believe is going to be a Donald Trump victory in a couple of weeks,” Vance added. “That’s not okay, and I think it’s totally reasonable to point out that yes, we’ve got the strongest country in the world, but we do have some broken leaders in Washington, and it’s why we’re [winning] this race.”FOX NEWS: Why is it necessary for Trump to keeping talking about 'enemies within'?JD VANCE: When people ask him questions, he speaks from the heart, and sometimes that means he's going to talk about issues that the mainstream media isn't focused on pic.twitter.com/2c5DfZKXgR— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 21, 2024Vance is clearly doing his best to spin and add some depth to Trump’s comments to make them appear reasonable, trying to sanewash what clearly is the former president characterizing his political opponents as national enemies that he plans to target if he returns to the White House. The Ohio senator also is trying to redirect the very real threat of Trump supporters resorting to violence if the former president loses in November by accusing liberals of the same thing, even though the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots have not faded from public memory. Vance is only the latest Republican to dismiss Trump’s violent rhetoric, but others in the GOP were not able to invent such a detailed explanation. Meanwhile, ex-officials from the Trump administration, including his former secretary of defense Mark Esper, think the former president’s comments are alarming and should be taken very seriously.
JD Vance offered a strange defense Monday morning of Donald Trump’s recent comments calling Democrats and his other political opponents the “enemy within,” saying Trump’s words are “unfiltered” and “from the heart.”
Fox’s Bill Hemmer asked Vance what the former president means when he uses the phrase and why such language is necessary. Vance responded dismissively, claiming that Trump was just being himself.
“Donald Trump is unfiltered,” Vance told Hemmer. “I think this is one of the reasons why the campaign has gone well, is because he’s not doing a basement campaign strategy. He’s not just running on slogans. When people ask him questions, he speaks from the heart.”
Vance then claimed Trump’s comments on using the military against his enemies were actually in regard to the “rioters” protesting for racial justice during the summer of 2020.
“Why wasn’t law enforcement empowered to put down these riots, to reimpose law and order on American cities? That’s to me what President Trump is talking about here,” Vance said, claiming that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz encouraged “rioters” to attack police stations back then.
Hemmer then corrected Vance, pointing out that Trump specifically mentioned Representatives Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi by name. The Republican vice presidential candidate quickly pivoted, accusing Schiff and Pelosi of being “really part of weaponizing the Department of Justice against our country.”
“I think what Donald Trump is saying is, ‘Look, we’ve got the strongest country in the world. We’ve got the best people in the world, but we do have some broken leadership,’” Vance said, accusing Pelosi of “getting rich off of insider stock trades even as her own country has gotten poor.”
“We do have people on the left, not most people to be clear, but some people on the left who are encouraging violent responses to what we believe is going to be a Donald Trump victory in a couple of weeks,” Vance added. “That’s not okay, and I think it’s totally reasonable to point out that yes, we’ve got the strongest country in the world, but we do have some broken leaders in Washington, and it’s why we’re [winning] this race.”
FOX NEWS: Why is it necessary for Trump to keeping talking about 'enemies within'?
JD VANCE: When people ask him questions, he speaks from the heart, and sometimes that means he's going to talk about issues that the mainstream media isn't focused on pic.twitter.com/2c5DfZKXgR— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 21, 2024
Vance is clearly doing his best to spin and add some depth to Trump’s comments to make them appear reasonable, trying to sanewash what clearly is the former president characterizing his political opponents as national enemies that he plans to target if he returns to the White House. The Ohio senator also is trying to redirect the very real threat of Trump supporters resorting to violence if the former president loses in November by accusing liberals of the same thing, even though the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots have not faded from public memory.
Vance is only the latest Republican to dismiss Trump’s violent rhetoric, but others in the GOP were not able to invent such a detailed explanation. Meanwhile, ex-officials from the Trump administration, including his former secretary of defense Mark Esper, think the former president’s comments are alarming and should be taken very seriously.
