In a debate where he botched a few lines and said he’s a ‘dumb’ sometimes, Tim Walz asked JD Vance a direct question about whether Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.
The response he received from Trump’s running mate is one that Democrats believe will bolster their argument that Trump is a threat to democracy and that Vance would help him overturn the will of the voters.
‘Did you lose 2020? Choice?’ Walz asked Vance after debate moderators posed a lengthy question for the Ohio senator that included pointing out that 62 election claims by Trump and his allies were rejected by the courts.
“Tim, I’m focused on the future,” Walls said. Then he tried to change the subject. “Did Kamala Harris censor Americans from speaking their minds in the wake of the 2020 Covid situation?” Vance responded.
“It’s a damning lack of response,” Walz interjected.
Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance was asked directly if Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. He avoided the question and talked about social media censorship.
The segment began with Vance being asked about his own statement that he would not have certified the last presidential election when states certified the electors that made Joe Biden president. Trump criticized Vice President Mike Pence for refusing to reject votes certified by states.
Vance started by trying to turn. “First of all, I think we’re focused on ‘how to solve the inflation crisis caused by Kamala Harris, make housing affordable and make food affordable,'” he said.
“What President Trump has said is that there were problems in 2020 and my own belief is that we should fight for those issues, debate them peacefully in the public square.”
He also spoke about what happened after the attack on the Capitol. ‘And on January 20, what happened? Joe Biden became president. “Donald Trump left the White House,” Vance said.
‘Did you lose 2020? Choice? Tim Walz asked JD Vance about the 2020 election
Vance said Trump peacefully relinquished power on Jan. 20, when Trump left Washington without attending Joe Biden’s inauguration.
Vance overlooked Trump’s efforts to get states to throw out votes legally cast in their states, his pressure campaign on Mike Pence, and his call for his supporters to DC on January 6.
He then accused Harris of ‘censorship’ on social media and said that issue ‘to me, is a much bigger threat to democracy than what Donald Trump said when he said protesters should peacefully protest on January 6th.’
Walz, in a debate in which the two rivals found common ground on gun violence and other issues, tried to draw a clear line.
“Donald Trump refused to acknowledge” the results, Walz said. ‘He was very clear. I mean, he lost this election and said no. That day, 140 police officers were beaten at the Capitol, some with the American flag. Several died later.
‘Sometimes you really want to win, but democracy is bigger than winning an election. They shake hands and then try to do everything they can to help the other side win,” Walz said.
Walz himself considers that the moment was a strong point, in a debate in which in a strange mistake he said that he was friends with school shooters.
‘I think it was a good debate. The audience could see a contrast and I think the ending sums it up. The question of democracy is important,” he said.
Trump, who was acquitted in his second impeachment trial when 57 senators voted guilty, falling short of the necessary two-thirds majority, was still hinting at his accusations of electoral fraud hours before the debate.
He called the election, which Biden won by about 20,000 votes in the state, “simply a disgrace.” “They won’t be able to do it a second time.”
Earlier this month, Vance was asked on the All In podcast if he would have done it if he had been in the role of Mike Pence on January 6. Pence rejected Trump’s claims of fraud and refused to throw out votes certified by states.
“I would have asked states to submit alternative slates of electors and let the country debate what really matters and what kind of election we had,” he said.
That could have resulted in millions of votes being rejected.