After dancing around the question at the October 1 debate, and for weeks afterward, J. D. Vance finally answered it.
He said: “I think there are serious problems in 2020. So, did Donald Trump lose the election? Not by the words that I would use.” (Read story here.) Vance, in his own words, officially is an election denier.
Trump lost the election. Not by the words I would use, but as a matter of law. That’s because there’s a well-defined legal process for conducting elections, disputing results, and finalizing an outcome.
Dozens of courts rejected Trump’s election challenges because the “serious problems” Vance alludes to are false conspiracy theories, myths, and lies.
Vance also calls talking about 2020 “an obsession.” He doesn’t want voters reminded of his party’s attempt to violently seize power in the last presidential election. That’s understandable. He doesn’t want to be seen as a man who thinks 81 million voters don’t count.
But that’s exactly who he is. If his lying about Haitians eating pets doesn’t turn you off on him, then his contempt for elections and voters surely should.
Related story: Vance’s self-debasement began long before the 2024 campaign; story here.