Former White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday that running mate J.D. Vance hopes to appeal to voters in a similar way to Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, who is also being considered as the Democratic vice presidential nominee.
“Morning Joe” co-hosts Mika Brzezinski and Psaki argued that Vance was being disingenuous in presenting himself as a supporter of former President Donald Trump and appealing to his base, citing his past comments about the former president. Psaki also said Vance wants to appeal to rural, centrist voters and be known in the same way as Walz.
“we [Vance] “And,” Psaki said on “Morning Joe.” [former Democratic Missouri Sen.] Claire McCaskill said this the other day, and I'm quoting her exactly, but I think it sums up exactly what he's thinking: “Tim Waltz is who J.D. Vance wants to be, and that's probably why Tim Waltz pisses off Donald Trump so much. He's a genuine, hardware store-speaking Midwestern guy. That's not who J.D. Vance really is, even if that's how he presents himself on paper.”
Jen Psaki says on “Morning Joe” that J.D. Vance wants to be Tim Waltz pic.twitter.com/n1rmCjowsU
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 8, 2024
Brzezinski then pointed to Vance's past criticism of Trump, particularly during the 2016 election. Vance reportedly mused about whether Trump was “an American Hitler” in a private Facebook message to a friend in 2016, and described himself as a “Never Trumper” in an interview with Charlie Rose that same year. according to To Politico. (RELATED: CNN's Jim Acosta corrects Democratic senator who incorrectly suggested J.D. Vance never served in the military)
According to Politico, Vance regrets his past criticism of Trump and has since called him a great president.
“He was the ultimate anti-Trump guy, and I don't know how he's come to terms with who he is now. It's a struggle,” Brzezinski said.
“Well, in politics, I think because we've all been in politics for a long time, the voters, the American people, can sniff out inauthenticity,” Psaki said. “This guy is not real. He's not who he really is. He doesn't like Trump. He's not revealing who he was for decades before he made this 180-degree turn to try to connect with the MAGA world. People sniff that out, they recognize that. Voters are not stupid, they're smart. And the fundamental problem with J.D. Vance is that he's not the authentic person that he's presenting himself to be.”
Posted by Vice President Kamala Harris' headquarters picture After the 2018 Parkland High School shooting, Governor Walz said he wanted to ban weapons “borne in war.” CNN correspondent Tom Foreman fact-checked Governor Walz's statement on Wednesday, noting that there is “no evidence” that it's true.
“There is no evidence that Governor Walz was in a position to be shot at any time, and some of his statements could easily be viewed as suggesting that he was,” Foreman said Wednesday.
Vance, a former Marine Corps combat correspondent, said Wednesday that Walz's comments indicate he lied about his military service and called his discharge from the National Guard “disgraceful.”
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