George Stephanopoulos and JD Vance engaged in a heated interview that ultimately ended with Vance’s microphone being abruptly cut off. However, before that, Vance was able to get in several points without being challenged, including discussing the media’s obsession with January 6th, the ongoing litigation against former President Trump, and the collusion between Big Tech and intelligence agencies when it comes to censorship.
During the exchange, Stephanopoulos brought up the Constitution’s requirement that the president must abide by legitimate Supreme Court rulings. Vance responded by saying that while the Supreme Court does have the power to make rulings, if they were to make an illegitimate ruling regarding the military, the president could defy it based on his Article 2 prerogative to run the military as he sees fit. He also emphasized that this is a basic requirement for constitutional legitimacy. Despite Stephanopoulos’s attempts to twist the argument by bringing up a hypothetical scenario, Vance stood his ground and noted that throughout American history, presidents have responded to illegitimate Supreme Court rulings.
Stephanopoulos then attempted to shift the conversation to Schedule F, former President Trump’s proposal to depoliticize the bureaucracy within the Executive Branch. He also employed his trademark tactic of framing a question with a dishonest debate point before quickly moving on to the next topic. In this case, he attempted to bifurcate the military from mid-level Department of Defense bureaucrats, which is a tactic often used to discredit conservative arguments. Vance, however, did not back down and this led to his mic being cut off, while Stephanopoulos appeared to look smug and unconcerned.
This tone was evident throughout the interview, with Stephanopoulos constantly attempting to score cheap shots on various issues. He tried to bring up the E.J. Carroll trial and get Vance to respond to a Lincoln Project ad, as well as discussing the 2020 election and a hypothetical scenario that is no longer relevant due to revisions made to the Electoral Count Act. He also confronted Vance about his reversal on his stance regarding President Trump’s fitness for office, a topic that was addressed at the beginning of the interview.
The tone of this interview went beyond the usual contempt for conservatives that is expected from mainstream media personalities. It was more of an inquisition of a class traitor, with Stephanopoulos trying to chastise and heckle Vance throughout the interview. However, Vance was able to hold his own and even run circles around Stephanopoulos at times, which likely led to the cut microphone in the end.
Overall, it was clear that the purpose of this interview was not to have a meaningful exchange of ideas between Vance and Stephanopoulos. Instead, it was an attempt to discredit and humiliate Vance, who was previously a Never Trumper but has changed his stance in recent years. Vance saw through this and was unafraid to stand his ground and challenge Stephanopoulos, which made for a heated and contentious exchange.