JD Vance says Donald Trump did not lose the 2020 election

Republican vice-presidential nominee JD Vance asserted Wednesday for the first time since joining the Republican ticket that Donald Trump did not lose the 2020 election after previously sidestepping questions from reporters and his opponent on the debate stage over two weeks ago.

Vance, answering a reporter’s question in Williamsport, Pa., said that there were “serious problems in 2020,” referring to alleged censorship by tech companies.

“Did Donald Trump lose the election? Not by the words that I would use,” he said in his most direct answer to the question yet. “But look, I really couldn’t care less if you agree with me or disagree with me on this issue.”

Vance emphasized he was instead focused on social media censorship, referring to a decision by Twitter that temporarily blocked users from sharing a story about Hunter Biden’s laptop.

Vance had danced around conceding that Trump lost in recent weeks - not answering when Democratic vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz pressed him on it during their debate, when he was asked five times during an interview with the New York Times, and when asked about it multiple times on the campaign trail. As a Senate candidate in 2022, Vance questioned the results of the presidential election, citing concerns he had about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s donations to an election organization.

The Harris campaign was quick to highlight Vance’s answer Wednesday.

“There we have it - JD Vance finally admitted he denies the 2020 election results,” Harris campaign spokesman Matt Corridoni said in a statement. “As Governor Walz said on the debate stage weeks ago, Donald Trump selected Vance for this exact reason - he knows Vance will be a loyal soldier in Trump’s pursuit for absolute, unchecked, limitless power.”

The Trump-Vance campaign declined to comment on Vance’s remarks Wednesday.

The issue of the 2020 election outcome has loomed over Vance since the Oct. 1 debate, when Walz said Vance delivered a “damning non-answer.” Harris has increasingly used the issue to rally Republicans against Trump, including during a campaign event Wednesday in Pennsylvania where she was flanked by her crossover supporters.

Trump’s reelection loss has been upheld through dozens of lawsuits and investigations at multiple levels of government. He remains under indictment across two jurisdictions - in Georgia and at the federal level - over his efforts to overturn his defeat, which culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Vance had nonetheless held out on admitting Trump lost, repeating in recent days that he was “focused on the future” and accusing the media of being “obsessed” with the issue.

Vance also was asked Wednesday about Trump’s recent claim that the National Guard or U.S. military may be deployed on American soil against those he labeled “the enemy from within” - hours after Trump doubled down on his claim and named “the Pelosis” among those of concern.

Vance referred to the racial justice protests in 2020 and said there were “various far-left activists who are talking about civil unrest in this country if Donald Trump were to be elected president again.”

Harris brought up Trump’s recent claim about “the enemy from within” during her stop in Washington Crossing, Pa., warning that Trump “is increasingly unstable and unhinged, and he is seeking unchecked power.”