After Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) suggested that Trump has the power to defy the Supreme Court, ABC’s This Week host George Stephanopoulos cut his mic and ended the interview.
What Happened In The JD Vance Interview With George Stephanopoulos?
After JD Vance insisted that Donald Trump had the power to defy the Supreme Court, then lied about his previous comments, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos cut off his mic and ended the interview.
Transcript via ABC’s This Week:
STEPHANOPOULOS: The Constitution also says the president must abide by legitimate Supreme Court rulings, doesn’t it?
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
VANCE: The Constitution says that the Supreme Court can make rulings, but if the Supreme Court — and, look, I hope that they would not do this, but if the Supreme Court said the president of the United States can’t fire a general, that would be an illegitimate ruling, and the president has to have Article II prerogative under the Constitution to actually run the military as he sees fit.
This is just basic constitutional legitimacy. You’re talking about a hypothetical where the Supreme Court tries to run the military. I don’t think that’s going to happen, George. But of course, if it did, the president would have to respond to it. There are multiple examples throughout American history of the president doing just that.
STEPHANOPOULOS: You didn’t say “military” in your answer, and you’ve made it very clear you believe the president can defy the Supreme Court.
Senator, thanks for your time this morning.
VANCE: No, no — no, no, George.
STEPHANOPOULOS: Roundtable’s up next. We’ll be right back.
Video:
JD Vance Was Suggesting That Trump Could Break Democracy
Stephanopoulos was especially offended by this idea because he worked in the White House many decades ago, and he knew what Vance was suggesting and what defying the Supreme Court would mean for democracy.
Vance was suggesting that Donald Trump could shatter the backbone of our democracy by defying the Supreme Court. The suggestion that Trump could fire civil servants and replace them with his loyalists is illegal, which is why we have laws against patronage.
After Vance tried to dance around his own words that are on tape, Stephanopoulos wasn’t going to give an anti-democracy fascist any more airtime, so he cut his mic and ended the interview.
It would be shocking if JD Vance is ever interviewed by Stephanopoulos again on The Week.
The ABC News host showed how a pro-Trump fascist should be handed by the media.
Vance’s ideas weren’t normalized. They were cut off and sent back to the dark corner where they belonged.
A Special Message From PoliticusUSA
If you are in a position to donate purely to help us keep the doors open on PoliticusUSA during what is a critical election year, please do so here.Â
We have been honored to be able to put your interests first for 14 years as we only answer to our readers and we will not compromise on that fundamental, core PoliticusUSA value.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
