Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance is facing criticism from a veterans advocacy group for his refusal to condemn the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of Donald Trump.
During Tuesday’s primetime debate with Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, Vance was asked about the attempt to illegally seat “alternative” electors backing Trump instead of the election’s real winner, now-President Joe Biden.
Vance deflected from the question and told debate co-moderator Norah O’Donnell that he and Donald Trump are “focused on the future.”
“Remember, [Donald Trump] said that on Jan. 6, the protesters ought to protest peacefully. And on Jan. 20, what happened? Joe Biden became the President. Donald Trump left the White House,” Vance added.
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Walz characterized Trump’s election denial as a threat to democracy and asked Vance if Trump lost the election. Vance again reiterated that he was “focused on the future.”
“That is a damning nonanswer,” Walz replied.
VoteVets, a progressive veterans advocacy group, responded to Vance’s comments, posting on Threads, “January 6th was among the darkest days in American history and JD Vance won't condemn it and say it was wrong for Donald Trump to stoke it. Tim Walz is right—the reason signs say ‘Trump-Vance’ and not ‘Trump-Pence’ again is because Donald Trump told the mob that Pence was the 'enemy' too.”
Vance was asked about his comments at a campaign event on Wednesday, but he refused to answer, saying, “The media’s obsessed with talking about the election four years ago. I’m focused on the election of 33 days from now.”
On Wednesday the Harris-Walz campaign released a digital ad highlighting the contentious debate exchange, juxtaposing Vance’s comments with footage of the Jan. 6 attackers breaching the Capitol.
Vance has allied himself with Trump’s anti-democratic stance before, telling the hosts of a tech summit in early September that he would have sided with the fraudulent electors.
Shortly before the debate, Trump again refused to say he would acknowledge the outcome of the presidential election if it was unfavorable to him.
Asked by a reporter if he had trust in the electoral process, Trump replied, “I’ll let you know in about 33 days.”
Trump has expressed sympathy with the Jan. 6 rioters and has said on multiple occasions that if he is elected to another term in office, he would use the power of the presidency to pardon them.
During their Sept. 10 debate, Vice President Kamala Harris sharply criticized Trump’s stance on the issue.
“I was at the Capitol on Jan. 6. I was the vice president-elect. I was also an acting senator. I was there,” Harris said. “And on that day, the president of the United States incited a violent mob to attack our nation's Capitol, to desecrate our nation's Capitol. On that day, 140 law enforcement officers were injured. And some died. And understand, the former president has been indicted and impeached for exactly that reason.”
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