Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance defended himself at a rally Wednesday over dodging a debate question of whether former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election.
While at a rally in Auburn Hills, Michigan, Mr. Vance, the running mate of Mr. Trump, was asked why he didn’t answer the question at the vice presidential debate Tuesday night.
“Here’s the simple reason — the media’s obsessed with talking about the election of four years ago, I’m focused on the election of 33 days from now because I want to throw [Vice President] Kamala Harris out of office and get back to common sense economic policies,” Mr. Vance said.
“If you believe in American democracy, if you believe in our constitutional republic, you should be trying to strengthen American election integrity and not weaken it,” he said.
At the debate Tuesday night, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, asked Mr. Vance if Mr. Trump lost the 2020 election.
“Tim, I’m focused on the future,” Mr. Vance said.
Mr. Walz called his response a “damning non-answer.”
At the rally Wednesday, Mr. Vance shifted the conversation to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which would’ve required proof of citizenship to vote. The bill has been stopped by Democrats in the Senate, and was shot down when it was added to a stopgap government funding bill in the House.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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