JD Vance Clashes with CNN’s Jake Tapper Over Trump, Former Aides’ “Fascist” Claims
On CNN’s State of the Union, GOP vice-presidential nominee JD Vance debated host Jake Tapper about recent criticisms of former President Donald Trump from some of his former top aides, including retired Gen. John Kelly, who described Trump as fitting a “general definition of fascist.” Tapper pressed Vance on Trump’s rhetoric regarding “enemies from within,” prompting a back-and-forth on both Trump’s language and the former aides now criticizing him.
Vance, 40, pushed back on what he called “warmongers” within Trump’s former circle, including Kelly and former Rep. Liz Cheney. Tapper responded by questioning Trump’s comments about targeting election officials, to which Vance accused Tapper of taking Trump’s words out of context. “If you’d actually put him in context,” Vance argued, “Americans would see that Trump is far more reasonable than people like Liz Cheney, who would lie us into war.”
Vance also took the opportunity to criticize CNN, stating, “You guys talked about the Russia hoax nonstop,” while Tapper defended the network, saying they had covered an active FBI investigation. Vance, however, accused CNN of uncritically airing FBI claims as fact, insisting, “A viewer of your network would have believed Trump and Putin conspired in 2016. That was totally false.”
As Tapper insisted CNN’s coverage simply followed the investigation, Vance argued that the network’s use of anonymous sources created a misleading narrative. The conversation returned to Trump’s rhetoric, with Tapper referencing comments from Kelly, who had said Trump “prefers the dictator approach to government” and expressed admiration for Hitler’s generals’ loyalty—an account Trump denies.
Vance dismissed the former aides’ critiques as reflective of “a worldview that’s oppositional to peace.” Tapper challenged Vance on this, noting the range of former officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, who have spoken critically of Trump. “So all these people have this horribly damaged worldview and just want war?” Tapper asked skeptically.
“Absolutely,” Vance responded. “They entered office thinking they could control Trump, who spoke of wanting peace.”
Trump, 78, has since said that some of his staffing choices were mistakes, recently telling Joe Rogan, “I picked some people that I shouldn’t have picked,” referring to them as “neocons, or bad people, or disloyal people.” He nonetheless praised others like former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for their loyalty.
After Vance’s CNN appearance, the network aired a rebuttal from Cheney. Similarly, CBS’s Face the Nation followed Vance’s interview with comments from Cheney, who argued, “What we just watched is someone trying to contort to defend the person JD Vance himself once called America’s Hitler,” referring to Vance’s 2016 remarks about Trump, which Vance has since walked back, attributing them to his understanding of Trump at the time.
Vance concluded his CNN appearance by reaffirming his intent to serve all Americans, stating, “I’m running to be the vice president of all Americans. I want people to afford a good life in this country.”
