Republican vice presidential nominee, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio, called Trump a “Democrat propagandist” on Sunday after CNN anchor Dana Bash appeared to accuse him of inciting violence.
For weeks, Vance has been drawing attention to the immigration issues plaguing his city of Springfield, Ohio, and rejecting blanket media denials of claims that immigrants are targeting animals in the area.
“You have accused me of making a bomb threat. … Don't you realize that you are engaging in basic propaganda to silence the concerns of the American people? Please?”
Vance believes the allegations should be thoroughly investigated, not only because there is evidence that the allegations are legitimate, but also because his office has received numerous calls from constituents testifying to the issues.
Speaking on CNN's “State of the Union,” Bash accused Vance of “putting” voters at risk by drawing attention to the issues in Springfield.
At first, Vance played nice, ignoring the accusations: He told Bash that the media had “totally ignored” Springfield's problems until recently, explained that Vice President Kamala Harris' policy record would drive more trouble in Springfield, and revealed how many constituents had called his office to report problems in Springfield.
“My stance is, I listen to my constituents,” Vance explained, “and sometimes they say things that people don't like. But they say things that they don't like because their city is overwhelmed. And it's my job to fight for them and protect them.”
But instead of addressing the substance of Vance's comments, Bash responded by attempting to fact-check them.
The CNN anchor acknowledged that he had downplayed Harris during an interview with the Democratic presidential candidate. Call 911 and Social Media Videos This seems to lend credence to the claim that animals were targeted.
Then she went a step further, directly accusing Vance of “saying the wrong things and actually causing bomb threats that led to the evacuations of hospitals, schools and government buildings.”
Vance finally had enough of the criticism.
Republicans called Bash's accusations “sickening” and said they were “more befitting a Democratic propagandist than an American journalist.”
“Nothing I've said has resulted in any threats against these hospitals,” Vance added. “These hospitals, the bomb threats, everything is terrible. Violence is terrible. We condemn it. We condemn all violence and threats of violence.”
As the interview progressed, Vance again tried to explain how policies supported by Harris would harm communities like Springfield, but Bash repeatedly interrupted him, telling him he didn't want to discuss policy.
“Dana, would you like me to ask you questions and have them answered, or would you like to debate these topics? Vance said. “I noticed when you hosted Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, you gave them multiple choice questions and you let them answer the questions. I'm happy to be here to talk policy, but if you interrupt me every time I open my mouth, why am I even doing this?”
For the remainder of the interview, Bash asked Vance more leading and provocative questions, repeatedly suggesting he was lying about Springfield, while Vance attempted to discuss immigration policy.
But at the end of the interview, something incredible happened.
Bash accused Vance of making “statements that led to bomb threats” and suggested that both Vance and Donald Trump were responsible because the bomb threats occurred after they drew attention to issues in Springfield, but he flatly denied accusing Vance of inciting violence.
But Vance wouldn't let her go.
“You accused me of making a bomb threat,” he said. “Don't you realize that you're engaging in basic propaganda to silence the concerns of the American people? Please?”
Bash tried to defend himself by claiming he was simply quoting the mayor of Springfield, but that backfired.
“The mayor of Springfield is dealing with a lot of terrible issues,” Vance fired back, “but he hasn't accused me of instigating bomb threats. He just didn't do so.”
“If you're going to feature first-hand testimony from people on the ground in Springfield, why not bring in some people from your show who claim immigrants are eating pets,” he continued. “You're applying a double standard: if someone accuses J.D. Vance, you're saying you're going to accept their word as true, even if you misrepresent it. Meanwhile, if someone claims they're eating cats, you're going to totally ignore, attack, silence and harass them.”
“This double standard is why Americans don't trust the media and why we're not debating public policy with 51 days until the presidential election,” Vance said.
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