Vance Clashes with Tapper on Warnings from Former Trump Official
Vance addressed concerns raised by Donald Trump’s former chief of staff, John Kelly, regarding the former president's perceived fascist tendencies, emphasizing that the focus should be on policy rather than personality.
TroibNews 
In a heated interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, vice presidential nominee JD Vance downplayed the warnings about fascism from former Trump officials, framing them as simple policy disagreements.
“It's about policy, it's not about personality,” Vance stated on "State of the Union" when addressing comments made by John Kelly, the former chief of staff to Donald Trump, regarding Trump's alleged fascist tendencies.
Vance elaborated, “I know John Kelly's worldview and I know the people who have attacked Donald Trump the most vociferously on foreign policy. They'll say, well, he's a dictator when what they really mean is they won't listen. Donald Trump would not listen to the leadership of the military when they wanted him to start ridiculous conflicts; that is a consistent theme.”
Tapper countered by noting that Kelly has claimed to agree with Trump on most issues, challenging Vance’s assertion that Kelly is “pro-war,” pointing out that he has given no public indication of a desire to engage in military action in places like Iran or Afghanistan.
Numerous officials from the Trump administration have criticized the former president, labeling him a threat to democracy and national security. Recently, John Kelly described Trump’s authoritarian inclinations, even recounting a moment when Trump praised Hitler, which Vance has rejected as untrue. Other notable figures who have shared similar views include Mark Milley, former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Jim Mattis, former secretary of Defense; former Vice President Dick Cheney; and his daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney.
Vance continued his line of reasoning, saying, “I don't buy that because if you actually look at John Kelly, at folks like Liz Cheney, the fundamental disagreement they have with Donald Trump is even though they say that they're conservative. They're conservative in the sense that they want America to get involved in a ton of ridiculous military conflicts.”
He also noted a similar argument regarding former Vice President Mike Pence, asserting that Pence no longer supports Trump primarily due to foreign policy disagreements rather than the January 6 Capitol attack, where chants of "Hang Mike Pence" were heard.
Moreover, Vance expressed skepticism that Kelly’s remarks were not coordinated with the Harris campaign, a claim he had made at a rally earlier. When pressed for evidence by Tapper, he stated: “You know the way that these attacks work. You know the way that these people are often vetted.”
“Did you make that up?” Tapper asked, to which Vance replied, “No, I said that the American media and the American Democratic Party apparatus works a certain way.”
Vance reiterated his view that those speaking out against Trump, including Kelly, are “disgruntled former employees,” stressing that they only raised concerns about Trump’s fitness for office after their dismissals.
“They didn't think he was unfit for office until they had a falling out with him because he fired them,” he pointed out, while Tapper highlighted that many, including Pence and Milley, had not been fired.
Kelly's comments came in the wake of Trump's recent statements suggesting that the military should be deployed against “the enemy from within,” whom he identified as greater threats than foreign adversaries, citing figures like Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Vance pushed back against these claims, arguing with Tapper over the context of Trump’s statements and suggesting that Tapper was misrepresenting them.
Later, as part of "State of the Union," Liz Cheney joined Tapper to characterize Vance's remarks as a “mix of desperation and naivete.”
"I think what we just watched is what it looks like when someone has got to go through just unbelievable contortions to try to find a way to defend the person that JD Vance himself called America's Hitler,” Cheney remarked, emphasizing the numerous serious accusations made by officials against Trump.
She further stated, “The Trump campaign, Donald Trump, JD Vance, they absolutely understand how damaging it is for the American people to see all of these unprecedented levels of senior officials from the Trump administration telling the American people that Donald Trump is unfit. And so they concoct these things that are completely divorced from any connection to the truth to lash out and attack.”
Kelly’s claims regarding fascism reverberated throughout the Sunday news programs. Republican senators Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham defended Trump, with Rubio asserting on "Fox News Sunday" that Kelly and Milley were lying and expressing skepticism about the timing of their remarks. Graham acknowledged his respect for the generals but disagreed with their conclusions.
“They’re trying to scare Americans that this man can't fix the problems we need fixed. I reject that,” Graham said on ABC's "This Week," insisting he believes Trump to be a strong president.
Shortly thereafter, former Republican Governor Chris Christie appeared on ABC, where he called out Graham as a hypocrite.
“Well, you want to talk about textbook hypocrite, I mean that’s Lindsey,” Christie stated. “How the hell did Lindsey Graham sit in that chair and look in that camera and say the things he said about Donald Trump this morning? This is why people hate politics.”
In a later segment on NBC's "Meet the Press," Senator Bernie Sanders expressed his reluctance to label Trump as a "fascist," yet he acknowledged a “strong tendency to authoritarianism and to undermining American democracy” in Trump’s behavior. Sanders suggested this understanding is what drives military leaders and other Republicans to distance themselves from Trump, despite agreeing with some of his policies.
“It’s not because of policy issues,” Sanders stated. “It is because they understand that Trump is an authoritarian, does not believe in the rule of law, and for one hundred reasons is unfit to be president of the United States.”
Alejandro Jose Martinez contributed to this report for TROIB News
“It's about policy, it's not about personality,” Vance stated on "State of the Union" when addressing comments made by John Kelly, the former chief of staff to Donald Trump, regarding Trump's alleged fascist tendencies.
Vance elaborated, “I know John Kelly's worldview and I know the people who have attacked Donald Trump the most vociferously on foreign policy. They'll say, well, he's a dictator when what they really mean is they won't listen. Donald Trump would not listen to the leadership of the military when they wanted him to start ridiculous conflicts; that is a consistent theme.”
Tapper countered by noting that Kelly has claimed to agree with Trump on most issues, challenging Vance’s assertion that Kelly is “pro-war,” pointing out that he has given no public indication of a desire to engage in military action in places like Iran or Afghanistan.
Numerous officials from the Trump administration have criticized the former president, labeling him a threat to democracy and national security. Recently, John Kelly described Trump’s authoritarian inclinations, even recounting a moment when Trump praised Hitler, which Vance has rejected as untrue. Other notable figures who have shared similar views include Mark Milley, former chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Jim Mattis, former secretary of Defense; former Vice President Dick Cheney; and his daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney.
Vance continued his line of reasoning, saying, “I don't buy that because if you actually look at John Kelly, at folks like Liz Cheney, the fundamental disagreement they have with Donald Trump is even though they say that they're conservative. They're conservative in the sense that they want America to get involved in a ton of ridiculous military conflicts.”
He also noted a similar argument regarding former Vice President Mike Pence, asserting that Pence no longer supports Trump primarily due to foreign policy disagreements rather than the January 6 Capitol attack, where chants of "Hang Mike Pence" were heard.
Moreover, Vance expressed skepticism that Kelly’s remarks were not coordinated with the Harris campaign, a claim he had made at a rally earlier. When pressed for evidence by Tapper, he stated: “You know the way that these attacks work. You know the way that these people are often vetted.”
“Did you make that up?” Tapper asked, to which Vance replied, “No, I said that the American media and the American Democratic Party apparatus works a certain way.”
Vance reiterated his view that those speaking out against Trump, including Kelly, are “disgruntled former employees,” stressing that they only raised concerns about Trump’s fitness for office after their dismissals.
“They didn't think he was unfit for office until they had a falling out with him because he fired them,” he pointed out, while Tapper highlighted that many, including Pence and Milley, had not been fired.
Kelly's comments came in the wake of Trump's recent statements suggesting that the military should be deployed against “the enemy from within,” whom he identified as greater threats than foreign adversaries, citing figures like Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Vance pushed back against these claims, arguing with Tapper over the context of Trump’s statements and suggesting that Tapper was misrepresenting them.
Later, as part of "State of the Union," Liz Cheney joined Tapper to characterize Vance's remarks as a “mix of desperation and naivete.”
"I think what we just watched is what it looks like when someone has got to go through just unbelievable contortions to try to find a way to defend the person that JD Vance himself called America's Hitler,” Cheney remarked, emphasizing the numerous serious accusations made by officials against Trump.
She further stated, “The Trump campaign, Donald Trump, JD Vance, they absolutely understand how damaging it is for the American people to see all of these unprecedented levels of senior officials from the Trump administration telling the American people that Donald Trump is unfit. And so they concoct these things that are completely divorced from any connection to the truth to lash out and attack.”
Kelly’s claims regarding fascism reverberated throughout the Sunday news programs. Republican senators Marco Rubio and Lindsey Graham defended Trump, with Rubio asserting on "Fox News Sunday" that Kelly and Milley were lying and expressing skepticism about the timing of their remarks. Graham acknowledged his respect for the generals but disagreed with their conclusions.
“They’re trying to scare Americans that this man can't fix the problems we need fixed. I reject that,” Graham said on ABC's "This Week," insisting he believes Trump to be a strong president.
Shortly thereafter, former Republican Governor Chris Christie appeared on ABC, where he called out Graham as a hypocrite.
“Well, you want to talk about textbook hypocrite, I mean that’s Lindsey,” Christie stated. “How the hell did Lindsey Graham sit in that chair and look in that camera and say the things he said about Donald Trump this morning? This is why people hate politics.”
In a later segment on NBC's "Meet the Press," Senator Bernie Sanders expressed his reluctance to label Trump as a "fascist," yet he acknowledged a “strong tendency to authoritarianism and to undermining American democracy” in Trump’s behavior. Sanders suggested this understanding is what drives military leaders and other Republicans to distance themselves from Trump, despite agreeing with some of his policies.
“It’s not because of policy issues,” Sanders stated. “It is because they understand that Trump is an authoritarian, does not believe in the rule of law, and for one hundred reasons is unfit to be president of the United States.”
Alejandro Jose Martinez contributed to this report for TROIB News
