Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) said Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), a former Marine who was picked this week as former President Trump’s running mate, does not support “Marine Corps values.”
Moulton Participated Moulton appeared on Crooked Media’s “Pod Save the World” on Friday, where host Tommy Vieter asked him what he thought about Trump announcing at the Republican National Convention that he would nominate Vance for vice president. Both Moulton and Vance are military veterans.
“He’s a Marine Corps veteran, I mean, a combat correspondent. He doesn’t have a lot of combat experience, and he doesn’t strictly adhere to Marine Corps values,” Moulton said. “In fact, he’s not even close to it.”
“I consider him one of the biggest hypocrites in Congress, someone who wrote a book that completely contradicted his candidacy and someone who attacked Trump before he became his follower,” he continued.
Moulton said Vance was under Trump’s control and that he believed that was the “sole reason” – or at least the “most important reason” – why he was picked as Trump’s running mate.
The Massachusetts senator argued that President Trump does not want “another Mike Pence” who might turn against him “when the time comes.”
Vance was named Trump’s running mate earlier this week after a long period of speculation about who the former president would choose as his running mate.
Vance enlisted in the Marines after graduating from high school in 2003. He served in Iraq as a combat correspondent before serving in the Air Force’s public affairs division. He is the first Marine to be nominated for vice president.
After graduating from college in 2001, Moulton served as a Marine Corps officer and served four tours of duty in Iraq.
Moulton became the third House Democrat to call for Biden to step aside and allow a new candidate to defeat Trump in this year’s election, arguing that “all viable options” should be considered as next steps.
The Hill has reached out to Vance for comment.
