"The rules were that you guys weren't going to fact-check,” whines JD Vance
...or, "no fair! Our whole election strategy is built on lies and people who believe them"
The audacity left me breathless…speechless…dumbfounded…but not surprised.
Here I was, watching the Republican candidate for Vice president, running mate of the biggest, boldest, most ruthless liar in history, taking umbrage at the impudence of the moderator for…pointing out the actual facts. REALLY?
He had thought his lying was going to be protected, treated like a constitutional right, based on the rules of engagement for the debate.
And here was this woman (mildly) holding him to account…how dare she.
You saw it…speaking of Springfield, Ohio — a city that has welcomed legal Haitian immigrants to help fill job openings, but is also admittedly straining under the pressure of a large population increase as a result — JD Vance said, in last night’s debate:
“…you’ve got schools that are overwhelmed, you’ve got hospitals that are overwhelmed, you have got housing that is totally unaffordable because we brought in millions of illegal immigrants.”
Then one of the moderators, Margaret Brennan, interjected a clarification for the audience, before (attempting to) move on to the next topic…
"And just to clarify for our viewers, Springfield, Ohio does have a large number of Haitian migrants who have legal status, temporary protective status…"
Vance is lucky there was no question about the veracity of his lies about these same migrants stealing and eating Springfield’s cats and dogs. Lucky Brennan or O’Donnell did not ask how he felt about the angry scolding he got from Ohio’s Republican governor, Mike DeWine. Or DeWine’s column in the NY Times (I’m the Republican Governor of Ohio. Here Is the Truth About Springfield.)
But my point in this blog entry is not to go into the actual facts or substance of this particular matter; I am confident you all are aware of that. Rather, it’s to shine a light on how the entire Trump/Vance/MAGA pitch IS BUILT ON LIES AND THE IGNORANCE/DISCRIMINATION/NAIVETE/HYPER-PARTISANSHIP of the confidence that their “base” will unquestioningly swallow these lies.
Meanwhile, Trump backs out of ‘60 Minutes’ primetime interview over aversion to fact-checking
“They insisted on cutting out of the interview to do fact-checking,” - campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung.
New York CNN — Former President Donald Trump has backed out of a previously scheduled interview with “60 Minutes,” the most-watched newsmagazine in the United States, CBS News said Tuesday evening.1 CBS disclosed Trump’s change of plans a few hours before the network hosts a vice-presidential debate between Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, and Kamala Harris’s running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. “For over half a century, 60 Minutes has invited the Democratic and Republican tickets to appear on our broadcast as Americans head to the polls,” the network said in a statement. “This year, both the Harris and Trump campaigns agreed to sit down with 60 Minutes.” Trump had committed to the interview first, followed by Harris, through campaign spokespeople, CBS said. Veteran CBS anchor and correspondent Scott Pelley was lined up to interview Trump. “After initially accepting 60 Minutes’ request for an interview with Scott Pelley, former President Trump’s campaign has decided not to participate,” CBS said.
Imagine the scandal — a news organization actually insisting on facts!
Before I sign off today…
Don’t forget Vance’s outrageous and intelligence-insulting lies about Trump “saving Obamacare” when he and his party relentlessly tried to kill it over and over, and when they were unsuccessful at repealing it, doing all they could administratively to strangle it…
Or his “we need better locks on school doors, not more oversight of guns” because “America has a much higher incidence of mental health problems than Finland” (where gun ownership is high but mass shootings nonexistent)…
Or worst of all, perhaps, his unwillingness to say Biden won the 2020 election…his whitewashing of the insurrection (“on January 20th we had a peaceful transition of power”) and prior assertion that, in VP Pence’s shoes he would have done Trump’s bidding.
As The Bulwark’s Will Saletan writes today (The One Question That Mattered in the VP Debate)
That moment tells you the most important thing about Vance: When democracy is in peril, he will bow to Trump, not to the people or the Constitution. He must never be given that chance.
AMEN.
For more than 50 years, ‘60 Minutes’ has invited both campaigns to appear on the broadcast before the election…you may recall that in 2020 Trump petulantly got up and left his interview with Lesley Stahl because he didn’t like her questions.