JD Vance, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, agreed with former President Donald J. Trump that some Democratic opponents pose a greater threat to the United States than foreign adversaries. On NBC, Vance was asked if he concurred with Trump’s assertions that Democrats like Representatives Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi were more dangerous than nations such as Russia and China.
Vance supported his running mate. “What he said, and I do agree with this, is that the biggest threat we have in our country is not a foreign adversary, because we can handle these guys,” he explained. “We can handle foreign conflicts.
We can’t handle—look, under Nancy Pelosi’s long life in public leadership, the United States has gone from the pre-eminent industrial power of the world to second next to China. That fundamentally belongs on Nancy Pelosi’s shoulders.”
Vance appeared on Sunday morning news shows on CBS News, CNN, and NBC News.
Vance backs Trump on domestic threats
He sought to defend Trump against criticism from several former high-ranking officials in the Trump administration. These include John F. Kelly, the former Marine general and Trump’s longest-serving chief of staff, who alleged that Trump had praised Hitler and his generals and met the definition of a fascist. Gen.
Mark A. Milley, the retired chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff appointed by Trump, was also quoted in Bob Woodward’s new book, “War,” calling Trump a potential threat to democracy. Vance sought to portray these former Trump administration officials as warmongers or as individuals bitter about being fired.
He downplayed the significance of Russia’s disinformation campaigns in American elections, acknowledging that it was problematic but suggesting there was little the country could do about it. When pressed regarding the threats that Trump has allegedly made against political adversaries—including labeling some as “enemies from within” and insinuating that certain Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans should be jailed or subjected to military tribunals—Vance denied that Trump’s comments were fascistic. “No, of course it doesn’t,” Vance replied to Jake Tapper, denying that Trump had made some of the threats in question and claiming that in other cases, his words were taken out of context.
