In response to Donald Trump selecting as his running mate one of the most radical members of the U.S. Senate, JD Vance, American Bridge 21st Century’s Communications Director of Presidential Campaigns, Brandon Weathersby, released the following statement:
“JD Vance once said Trump could be ‘America’s Hitler,’ blamed him for causing the deadly Charlottesville Nazi marches, and said he believed the women who accused Trump of sexual assault. But now that Trump has completed his takeover of the Republican Party, Vance is ready to carry water for him as his vice president. We’re going to make sure that voters know Vance sees the twice-impeached convicted criminal as his best chance to see his extreme anti-abortion rights, anti-LGBTQ, and entitlement-gutting fantasies come to life.”
Background on JD Vance’s record:
- Formerly a Trump Opponent and Critic
- In 2016, Vance said he would either vote third party, write in his dog, or vote for Clinton before he would vote for Trump.
- Vance called Trump “unfit for our nation’s highest office.”
- Vance said Trump could be “American’s Hitler”
- Vance blamed Trump for causing the fatal Charlottesville Riots by not doing “more to unite the country.”
- Vance said he “loathed” Trump and indicated he believed Trump’s sexual assault accuser was telling the truth.
- Anti-Abortion Rights
- Vance referred to abortion as murder and compared the practice to slavery.
- Vance described pregnancies conceived during rape and incest as “inconvenient.”
- Vance falsely claimed that most abortions are abortions of “convenience.”
- Vance suggested that forced birth should be viewed as an “opportunity.”
- Vance said women should be “forced to bring a children to term” in cases of rape and incest.
- Vance supported a federal abortion ban, said he would “like abortion to be illegal nationally,” and advocated for a “national right to life.”
- Vance supported legislation to ban abortion federally at 15 weeks.
- Vance called Roe v. Wade “an abomination” and cheered the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn it.
- Vance supported state abortion restrictions, including Texas’ abortion ban, which had no exceptions for rape or incest and deputized private citizens to sue abortion providers.
- Vance supported Ohio’s six-week abortion ban, which also had no exceptions for rape or incest.
- Vance called for defunding Planned Parenthood.
- Vance claimed that the prosecution of an anti-abortion protester who assaulted an abortion clinic escort was “vile.”
- Anti-Democracy
- Vance suggested that he would not have certified the 2020 election results if he was vice president and would have demanded multiple slates of electors.
- Vance encouraged Trump to embrace authoritarianism and suggested that Trump should ignore any Supreme Court ruling that stood in his way.
- Vance called for an investigation into a journalist who suggested that a Trump presidency would lead to a dictatorship.
- Vance introduced a resolution in the Senate that declared that Trump “did not engage in insurrection or rebellion against the United States.”
- Vance said he doubted that Pence’s life was in danger on January 6 and minimized Trump’s culpability for any attacks against Pence.
- Vance said that many insurrectionists “did nothing wrong” on January 6.
- Vance claimed about the treatment of insurrectionists and referred to them as “political prisoners.”
- Vance halted the approval of federal judges because he thought Trump was unfairly targeted by the Department of Justice.
- Anti-Climate
- Vance disagreed that fossil fuels were bad for the environment, refused to acknowledge that climate change was man-made, and denied there was a climate crisis.
- Vance called for more production of fossil fuels, specifically advocating for more fracking in Ohio.
- Vance rebuked green energy efforts, calling solar a “green energy fantasy,” and wind turbines “disgusting.”
- Vance introduced legislation to roll back tax incentives for electric vehicles.
- Vance criticized governmental regulation efforts of Big Energy companies by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Biden administration.
- Vance claimed the Biden Administration was intentionally hiking the price of oil to reward his donors in “Big Finance and Big Tech” and advocated for increased drilling.
- Vance personally owned between $100,000 – $250,000 in crude oil stock.
- Anti-LGBT
- As recently as 2022, Vance stated that he believed marriage was exclusively between one man and one woman.
- Vance opposed legislation that would codify marriage equality into law.
- Vance opposed the Fairness Act and the Equality Act, both pieces of legislation that would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
- Anti-Social Safety Net
- Vance said he wanted to make cuts to Social Security and Medicare.
- Vance criticized Republicans for refusing to make cuts to Medicare and Social Security and called Republicans the “party of the aging white person” because he claimed senior citizens intimidated the party.
- Dangerous Conspiracy Theorist
- Vance supported dangerous conspiracy theorists like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Alex Jones, and Chris Rufo.
- Vance was endorsed by neo-Nazis and hate groups.
- Vance repeatedly promoted and defended the racist “Great Replacement” theory.
- Vance spent $1 million on an advertisement that emphasized the “Great Replacement” theory and asked viewers, “Do you hate Mexicans?”
- Vance peddled a conspiracy theory that the tech industry conspired with Democrats to rig the 2020 election.
- Vance spread a conspiracy that Biden sought to kill Trump voters and their children because they supported Trump.
- Vance spread an antisemitic conspiracy theory that “Soros-backed” prosecutors were intentionally releasing criminals into the streets.
- Anti-Common Sense Gun Laws
- The NRA supported Vance’s candidacy and gave him the highest possible grade for a non-office holder.
- Vance tried to deny the impact gun ownership had on the gun violence epidemic in America. Instead, he blamed increased mass shootings on population density and social media.
- Vance opposed enhancing the background check system.
- Vance opposed the bipartisan gun reform package.
- Vance opposed Biden’s decision to ban ghost gun kits.
- Vance repeatedly attacked red flag laws and assault weapons bans.
- Vance opposed the right of private businesses to set their own policies on gun ownership or gun purchases.
- Vance advocated for abolishing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.
Published: Jul 15, 2024 | Last Modified: Jul 18, 2024