Speaking during a Sunday, August 11 interview with Jonathan Karl on ABC’s “This Week,” Sen. JD Vance, the 2024 running mate of former President Donald Trump, fired back at the attacks made on his wife, Usha Vance, characterizing them as racist nonsense from people she is more attractive than.
That began with Karl asking him, “So, there’s been a lot of talk about racism and whatnot. You faced some really nasty stuff. I saw this thing that Nick Fuentes – of course, he’s an avowed white supremacist – he said, ‘What kind of a man marries somebody named Usha? Clearly, he doesn’t value his racial identity, his heritage.’ I mean this is racist garbage.”
Vance, responding, said, “Yes, it is.” Karl then added, “But this is also a guy that dined with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago during this campaign.” Vance told him, defending Trump, “Well, and Donald Trump doesn’t know anything about and frankly doesn’t care for. But, yes, look, my – my attitude to these people attacking my wife is—she’s beautiful, she’s smart. What kind of man marries Usha? A very smart man and a very lucky man, importantly.”
Continuing, as Karl told him, “Yes. Yes,” Vance said that attacks on his policies are fine, but that people shouldn’t attack his wife. He said, “And – and my view is, look, if these guys want to attack me or attack my views, my policy views, my personality, come after me, but don’t attack my wife. She’s out of your league.”
Karl then again tried to use it to attack Trump, saying, “But what – I mean how – that dinner that Trump had – and, of course, it was Kanye West, the guy that’s praised Hitler, who arranged it all. That – that was back a year and a half ago, and Trump still hasn’t given a full-throated denouncement of this guy who is – he said that terrible stuff, but he said – I mean he’s a white supremacist.”
Vance again dismissed the attack against Trump and said that Trump isn’t tainted by this behavior, telling Karl, “Look, I think he’s – he – President Trump has issued plenty of condemnations on this. The one thing that I like –” Interrupting Vance’s defense of Trump, Karl interjected, “But not of Fuentes. Yes.”
Still not going along with it, Vance told him, “The one – the one thing I like about Donald Trump, Jon, is that he actually will talk to anybody. But just because you talk to somebody doesn’t mean you endorse their views. And look, I mean Donald Trump 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.”
Vance then added, “I’m not at all worried about Donald Trump. I’m worried sometimes about these ridiculous attacks. But again, this is what you sign up for when you come into politics. I wish people would keep it focused on me. But, whatever. They’re going to say what they’re going to stay. My wife’s tough enough to handle it and that’s a good thing.”
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