On Wednesday, during a campaign rally in Williamsport, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), the GOP vice presidential candidate, was asked again whether he accepted the 2020 election results and what signal that sent to independent voters when he did not directly answer questions at this topic.
“I’ve answered that question directly a million times,” Vance said as the crowd at Liberty Arena heckled a reporter who asked the question. He said there would be “serious problems” in 2020. “Did Donald Trump lose the election? Not the words I would apply.
Vance said that “the media” will “focus on the lawsuits or focus on some crazy conspiracy theory. “What I know I can verify is that in 2020, big tech companies censored Americans from talking about things like Hunter Biden’s laptop story, which had a very, very serious impact on the election.”
In recent interviews Vance pleaded not guilty that former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election and, in response to a question from States Newsroom at Johnstown Rally, October 12 said there was a “peaceful transfer of power” in January 2021. On January 6, 2021, a mob of Trump supporters broke into the Capitol in Washington, D.C., attempting to disrupt the certification of the election results.
More than 1,500 defendants have been charged with crimes related to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, in which 140 police officers were attacked.
“And here we have it – JD Vance finally admits that he denies the 2020 election results.” Harris campaign spokesman Matt Corridoni said in a statement Wednesday. “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 Trump’s quest for absolute, unchecked and unlimited power.”
Hunter Biden’s laptop and its contents became source of controversy in 2020 following an article on the subject that appeared in the New York Post just weeks before the 2020 election. Social media companies then restricted the spread of stories about the laptop.
Trump continues to falsely claim that he won the 2020 election and that it was rigged against him, despite numerous lawsuits being dismissed due to lack of evidence of widespread fraud.
“Over the last two weeks, I’ve been asked a question, I think I’ve probably been asked eight or nine questions about 2020, and I’m giving an honest answer because I think it’s important to ask the question or answer the questions that are being asked,” he said Vance on Wednesday.
During a rally in Williamsport, Vance criticized Harris and said he had “bad sympathy” for Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential candidate. “I have the easiest job in American politics because I simply have to defend Donald J. Trump’s record,” he said. “He must defend Kamala Harris’s policies.”
Both campaigns are intensely focused on Pennsylvania in the remaining 20 days before the election – Walz in rural Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Harris in suburban Philadelphia on Wednesday, Vance in Pittsburgh on Thursday and Trump in Latrobe on Saturday.
19 electoral votes make Pennsylvania a must-win for any candidate. Polls continue to suggest the race is a tie.
The last day to register to vote in Pennsylvania for the November election is October 21.