Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance boldly said no, Donald Trump did not lose the 2020 election when pressed on the issue at a campaign event Wednesday in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
The Ohio senator has avoided outright denying the election results in recent weeks.
When asked New York Times Regarding the weekend results, for example, he refused to answer the question several times, in one case saying he was “focused on the future” — echoing the answer he gave to Democratic opponent Tim Walz at the vice presidential debate.
“This is a damning non-answer,” Walz said at the time.
However, in response to questions from the media on Wednesday, he was asked what message he thinks it sends to independent voters when he doesn't answer the question directly.
“I answered that question directly a million times in the 2020 election,” Vance snorted.
“No, I think 2020 is going to be a major challenge, is that why Donald Trump lost the election? Not the words I would use. Okay? Look, I really don't care whether you agree or disagree with me on this issue.”
“That's what I focus on. Because what the media will do, they will focus on court cases or some crazy conspiracy theory,” he continued, before launching into his own conspiracy.
“What I do know, what I do know, is that in 2020, big tech companies banned Americans from talking about things like the Hunter Biden laptop story. And that had serious, serious consequences for the election.”
In a statement to the Daily Beast, Harris-Walz 2024 spokesman Matt Corridoni said, “This is it – J.D. Vance has finally admitted that he denies the results of the 2020 election. As Governor Walz said on the debate stage a few weeks ago, Donald Trump chose Vance for this very reason – he knows Vance will be a loyal soldier in the pursuit Trump to absolute, unfettered, unlimited power.”
Later, answering the question again, Vance said he answered the question “a million times” during his 2022 Senate Republican primary campaign and “ten times” recently, saying, “I think big tech companies rigged the 2020 election. This is my point of view, and if you disagree with me, that's okay.”
When asked why he decided to answer the question now, he stated that he had been giving the exact answer for years, accusing the American media of “focusing on what happened four years ago.”
“Do your job and focus on the issues that concern the American people, not the bullshit that started four years ago,” he joked.
Trump has repeatedly claimed that he won the 2020 election, citing false claims of widespread voter fraud, despite numerous investigations and probes that have failed to find any evidence.
Last April, Fox News was forced to pay Dominion Voting Systems nearly $800 million, just minutes before a lawsuit between the voting machine company and the conservative network over the network's alleged repetition of election lies spread by Trump and others in his orbit.
Despite this agreement and dozens of failed court cases, Trump continues to push campaign lies ahead of the 2024 election.
“Donald Trump chose J.D. Vance as his running mate because he knew Vance would go along with his dangerous election denial and baseless attacks on our democracy no matter what. It's pathetic – and voters are ready to remind Trump why he lost again in 2020 this November,” said the National Rapid Response Director. Democratic Party Committee Alex Floyd in a statement emailed to The Daily Beast.
