JD Vance confesses to ‘The View’ that he’s an Epstein ‘conspiracy theorist’

(CNN) — Vice President JD Vance is trying to be everywhere this week, appearing on Fox News, CNN, NBC and other networks as he promotes a new memoir in preparation for the 2028 presidential campaign.

But of all his appearances thus far, his visit to ABC’s “The View” was unique.

It was hostile territory for the VP, since the daytime talk show is dominated by critics of the Trump administration.

And it was also politically charged because Trump’s Federal Communications Commission has been pressuring ABC and its parent company, Disney, on several fronts, including by launching an investigation of “The View.”

That FCC probe did not come up during Vance’s visit on Tuesday morning. But many other controversies did.

• Vance called himself “frankly kind of a conspiracy theorist on the Epstein stuff,” saying that he wanted the government to provide “full transparency” relating to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
• Vance tried to rationalize Trump’s recent remark that “I love the inflation,” saying, “What he said is that he loves the fact that the inflation is going to come down when the war is over,” prompting Joy Behar to ask, “Are you his interpreter or are you his vice president? Come on.”
• Vance asserted that “everybody is welcome in our political coalition” when Whoopi Goldberg pressed him on the administration’s treatment of minorities.

Overall, Vance defended the administration’s record and dodged several of the co-hosts’ critiques. While tense at times, it was a generally civil conversation between people of opposing views, something that’s all too rare on American television in the Trump era.

Goldberg introduced Vance to the audience by saying, “This show has invited thousands of guests with all kinds of diverse points of view, and we have been asking our next guest to join us for a while now, so we’re glad that he’s taken up on the offer today.”

Vance began by joking, “This is a show of MAGA Republicans, right? … That’s what my media team told me.”

Vance also urged viewers to buy his book, “Communion,” but most of the conversation was about what “The View” calls “hot topics.”

The vice president addressed “the affordability problem” and stuck to familiar Republican talking points, saying “there’s a lot more work to do” but “I think that we’re making progress.”

On the topic of Epstein, he confirmed reporting in Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan’s forthcoming book “Regime Change” that says White House chief of staff Susie Wiles privately described Vance as a conspiracy theorist.

“I love Susie, but absolutely, she thinks I’m a conspiracy theorist on the Epstein stuff,” he said, “because I think that it’s crazy that you had this guy who is clearly a sex predator who was hanging out with a lot of very wealthy and powerful people. Like, that really bothered me. I don’t know what’s there, of course, nobody knows exactly what happened unless you were there, but that really bothered me, and I wanted to have full transparency.”

Vance repeatedly pushed back when the co-hosts pointed out Trump’s past ties to Epstein. He falsely suggested that the friendship was “back in the 1980s,” when in fact the close relationship was documented throughout the 1990s.

According to an FBI document, Trump called the Palm Beach Police Department when the police opened an investigation into Epstein in the mid-2000s and said, “Thank goodness you’re stopping him. Everyone has known he’s been doing this.”

Vance depicted the call this way: Trump “narced on him to the police and led ultimately to Jeffrey Epstein’s downfall.” But an investigation was already underway at the time.

In another remarkable exchange, Goldberg asked, “What did Black people do to this administration that has allowed it to really stigmatize folks of color?” She brought up museum exhibit removals.

Co-host Sunny Hostin added, “I’m talking about Black history getting erased from public spaces. Black voter districts are being dismantled. Black leaders are being sidelined from our ranks. Where do Americans of color fit in this vision?”

Vance didn’t directly answer, but insisted that the administration welcomes everyone in its coalition and celebrates “all history in this administration.”

Monday night, in the much friendlier confines of Fox News, Vance was asked by Sean Hannity why “The View” appearance was happening at all.

Vance said, “You know the president — his attitude, my attitude, is you go everywhere. You try to take the message everywhere.”

Vance’s promotional push for “Communion” appears to be working. On Tuesday, which was publication day, the book shot up to #1 on Amazon’s constantly-updated list of best-selling new releases. The #2 book was “Regime Change,” which comes out next week.

The-CNN-Wire
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