JD Vance was everywhere Sunday. He did three interviews, one each with CNN, NBC News, and CBS News. Vance was able to dominate the interviewers who were determined to protect Tim Walz and Kamalah Harris.
He answered every question with confidence and skillfully rebuffed all attacks, while he shifted the topic to his advantage. Dana Bash, in a moment of great satisfaction, tried to hide reporting from her network to cover up Walz’s lies about his service. Vance was prepared for it.
Her own network had Walz’s superior officer on two days ago to debunk the claim that he didn’t know about the deployment before deciding to retire.
Dana Bash tries to pretend that didn’t happen, still pushing the lie. Vance calls her on it.
Beautiful. pic.twitter.com/lJEtmi5SxD
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) August 11, 2024
BASH: In regards to the question about when he left the National Guard, his paperwork for the 2005 elections was filed on February 10th. It was one month before the National Guard announced it was possible they could deploy to Iraq. He retired two months prior.
VANCE: On CNN last night, Dana said that they knew they would be deployed to Iraq by February 2004, sorry, fall 2004. He knew he would be going to Iraq and he quit his job, or retired, as you may call it.
BASH: Retire.
VANCE: He wanted to run for Congress, so whatever. He lied. He claimed that he didn’t know he was going into Iraq when he retired. Even his senior officer admitted that this is a lie.
Bash’s little comment that Walz “retired” and did not quit is hilarious. It’s an interesting semantic leap, given that retiring before your enlistment ends is the same as quitting. Walz didn’t age out. He quit his men, despite telling them that he would deploy with them. Vance says that we know this because Command Sergeant Major Doug Julin confirmed it on CNN. Walz was Walz’s immediate superior at the time.
Orwellian is it to see a journalist ignore the reporting of her network and instead perpetuate a falsehood to protect a politician. Bash did that, however. In an interview, many Republicans would not have been willing to call that out.
Vance displayed a similar level on ABC News by slamming Jonathan Karl’s biased questions. It’s especially impressive when Karl defends Harris by saying that she is not the “border czar”.
Senator @JDVance DESTROYS Jon Karl as he tries to claim Kamala Harris was never the Border Czar🔥
“We have to start with the fact that we have a wide open southern border because our Border Czar set a lot of open border policies…She assumed the title. She had control over a… pic.twitter.com/tAj8fGcOP0
— William Martin (@wsmartin218) August 11, 2024
VANCE: John, let’s start by recognizing that our Southern Border is wide open because the border czar set up several open-border policies. They suspended…
KARL: She wasn’t border czar, but you know that.
VANCE: That’s what the media called me. I assumed that title. She was in charge of a large part of our border policies at one time.
KARL: It was the root cause of migration…
This has become a popular line in the media. They say, “Oh, she wasn’t the border commissioner, you stupid head. She was only in charge of addressing migration’s root causes.” How did she perform in that position? Last I checked, her role was assigned in mid-2021. The illegal immigration surged in the years preceding, reaching record numbers and overwhelming the southern border.
Is it a good defense to say that she was responsible for solving the root cause when those causes were not only not solved but escalated as well? No, that’s the answer. This is a ridiculous attempt to avoid Harris taking any responsibility, even though she is the vice president of her administration. What is the argument? Harris, as vice president, did nothing at all? That would be a pretty big admission.
Vance responded to Karl’s extremely obtuse framing by laying out the litany policies Harris oversaw, including the suspension of Remain in Mexico, and the reinstatement of catch-and-release. Karl, realizing that the conversation wasn’t going well for Harris any more, tried to redirect.
KARL: How are you going to get 10, 15, or 20 million people to leave the country?
Vance: First, you need to stop the bleeding. Stop the open borders. You stop the bleeding by getting Kamala Harris to leave and implementing the Remain in Mexico Policy, or rebuilding or finishing Trump’s border walls. You’re correct, after you stop Kamala’s open border policies you have to do something about the people who are already here. I believe that you should take a step-by-step approach. You will have to deport a few people. You don’t want a border if you won’t deport many people.
KARL: But this is 10 to 15 million people.
VANCE: I don’t think that is the right attitude, Jon
Would you knock on the doors of people and ask them for their documents?
Vance did well to keep his cool. This debate was like debating with a child. It doesn’t matter if something is difficult, you should still try to achieve it. Vance describes this dynamic beautifully.
VANCE: I agree, this is the wrong way to look at it. There are currently 20 million illegal immigrants in the United States. Start with the achievable and work your way up. If you deport violent criminals and make it more difficult to hire illegal workers who undercut the wages of American employees, you will go a long way in solving the problem of illegal immigration.
But Trump has a point. You cannot have a border without being willing to deport people. It’s funny that so many people are asking, “How do you deport over 18 million people?” Kamala Harris failed to deport one million people. Let’s begin there and move on.
No matter how much Karl and the other liberals may try to convince you otherwise, this isn’t rocket science. Vance’s words are common sense and I think they resonate with many Americans.
I’m going to say something about Vance. Some people will take it as a criticism against Donald Trump. It’s okay, I will say it. Vance, who is the second-highest ranking member of the MAGA movement, is demonstrating that a person can be a “fighter”, while also being smart and disciplined. To be “tough,” you don’t need to abandon all strategy. Vance does not run off cliffs just to prove his point. He makes his opponents look foolish by going around them.
It doesn’t stop you from claiming the libs along the way.
I enjoyed sitting down with three of the major networks today to answer the tough questions any leader should answer. Kamala Harris has done as many tough interviews as Tim Walz has battlefield deployments.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) August 11, 2024
Vance got it right on Sunday. When the time comes to debate Tim Walz I’m confident that Vance will beat the Minnesota Governor.