In his first interview since GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump announced him as his running mate, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio addressed his past criticism of the 45th president.
“You texted a friend that Trump is a cynical a-hole like Nixon who wouldn’t bet that bad and might even prove useful, and that he’s America’s Hitler, you compared him to cultural heroin in The Atlantic monthly,” Fox News’ Sean Hannity said. “You said that then, what do you say to people that say, ‘Well wait a minute. What did he mean?”
“I don’t hide from that,” he responded. “I was certainly skeptical of Donald Trump in 2016. But President Trump was a great president, and he changed my mind. I think he changed the minds of a lot of Americans because, again, he delivered that peace and prosperity.”
During Trump’s first campaign, Vance said he “bought into the media’s lies and distortions…into this idea that somehow he was going to be so different, a terrible threat to democracy. It was a joke.”
Vance also told Hannity about the moment Trump called to offer him the role.
“I hope I’m not betraying too many confidences here, but when the president called me today to actually formally offer me to become the vice presidential nominee—which just sounds crazy—my son, my 7-year-old son, was sort of making noise in the background. I was getting so embarrassed,” Vance recalled.
“But then he actually has me put my 7-year-old son on the phone,” he continued. “You think about this. Everything that’s happened, the guy just got shot at a couple of days ago, and he takes the time to talk to my 7-year-old. It’s a moment I’ll never forget.”
Asked what Trump said when he called, Vance told Hannity he told him they have “got to go save this country” and he felt the Ohio Republican is the person best suited to help him govern and win, especially when it comes to Midwestern states.
Full Future VP JD Vance interview on Hannity pic.twitter.com/462uq4WoMv
— Karli Bonne’ 🇺🇸 (@KarluskaP) July 16, 2024
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