JD Vance Says He And Trump ‘Believe In The Peaceful Transfer Of Power’

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance on Tuesday said both he and Donald Trump “believe in the peaceful transfer of power” and will accept November’s election result despite the former president’s refusal to still concede his defeat in the 2020 vote.

“The 2020 election is in the past,” Vance said in an interview with 7 News Detroit reporter Sarah Michals.

“Nobody disputes that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are the president and vice president,” Vance said. “But what President Trump and I have said is just that there — there are some issues that are worth debating that happened in 2020.”

Trump has yet to publicly accept his defeat four years ago and has continued to push baseless conspiracy theories about the result despite no evidence to support his claims of widespread fraud in that race.

Vance also appeared evasive on the question of whether Trump lost in 2020 when pressed by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) during the CBS News vice presidential debate last week.

“Tim, I’m focused on the future,” Vance said.

“That is a damning nonanswer,” Walz shot back.

Meanwhile, Vance has refused to outright say whether he would have voted to certify the 2020 election result and claimed he would have invited states to allow alternative slates of electors, thus subverting the result of the vote.

Still, the Ohio senator, who once called Trump “America’s Hitler,” now insists that despite some of their criticisms of the election process, both he and Trump are committed to the peaceful transfer of power next January.

“I don’t think whether you’re a moderate Republican, an independent, a Democrat, you should be uncomfortable with us criticizing what’s going on,” Vance said. “We still, of course, believe in the peaceful transfer of power. We’re going to support the 2024 result.”

But Trump disrupted the peaceful transfer of power following the 2020 race after he incited a mob of his supporters to attack the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, while lawmakers were voting to certify the election result. Trump also did not attend Biden’s inauguration, breaking with tradition.

The former president also faces four criminal charges for his attempt to overturn the 2020 election, including conspiracy to defraud the United States. He has denied wrongdoing.