On CNN, JD Vance tries to turn the tables on Tim Walz: he is the one who is being “weird”

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance tried to turn the tables on Democratic rival Tim Walz, claiming that the governor of Minnesota is the one being “weird.”

In an interview with CNNwhich aired this Sunday (11), the Ohio senator pointed to the attitude of Walz and his wife, who shook hands before hugging on stage during the rally in Philadelphia, in which Vice President Kamala Harris introduced him as his running mate.

Vance accused the Democratic ticket of “a little bit of projection,” contrasting how he had hugged and kissed his own wife after his first speech as the Republican candidate for vice president.

“Tim Walz gave his wife a good, firm Midwestern handshake and then tried to make it right in a rather clumsy way,” Vance said.

“I think what happens is that Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are two people who are not comfortable with themselves, because they are uncomfortable with their policy positions for the American people,” he said.

“And then they’re name-calling instead of actually telling the American people how they’re going to improve their lives. I think that’s weird, but hey, they can call me whatever they want.”

Asked if he was suggesting the governor lacks affection for his wife, Vance said Walz “acted strangely, which he did, on a national stage in front of his wife.”

Vance’s comments come as Democrats seize on a message from Walz — weeks before his selection as Harris’ running mate — describing former President Donald Trump and Vance as “just weird” in an MSNBC interview.

In the interview with CNNVance dismissed the taunt as “basically school bully stuff.”

The characterization of Vance as “weird” was fueled in part by comments he made in a 2021 interview claiming that the United States is run by “ladies and children who keep cats.”

He specifically mentioned Harris, who is a stepmother, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who soon after adopted children with her husband. Vance said “of course” he recognizes the families of Harris and Buttigieg and argued that his comments were taken out of context.

With less than three months until Election Day, Trump and Vance are facing a very different race than they did last month, when Trump chose Vance as his running mate and Republicans gathered in Milwaukee for the party convention.

The departure of President Joe Biden and his replacement as the Democratic nominee by Harris has led to a much closer presidential race than the one polls showed when Trump led for much of 2024.

Vance acknowledged in the interview that “it’s different.” “But what’s different is that we’re running against a different person that many Americans simply don’t know,” he said.

The Ohio senator said the Republicans’ goal is to contrast the policies Trump championed during his term with those of the Biden-Harris administration.

“Now, that was an easier case to argue when Joe Biden was there, because people associate Joe Biden with policy. But I think Kamala Harris clearly owns the policies of the Biden-Harris administration, especially when we consider the fact that we’ve all learned over the last few months that Joe Biden is clearly not capable of doing the job,” Vance said.

He also claimed that Harris “really called the shots” in the Biden White House. “I mean, how could she not? I think Joe Biden really doesn’t know where he stands,” Vance said.

Tim Walz Military Background

In the interview, Vance also accused Walz of “lying about his own record” of military service. He criticized the Minnesota governor for once saying he carried guns “in war” — a Harris campaign spokesman said Walz misspoke — and for failing to correct descriptions of him in the past as having served in wars.

“I’m not criticizing Tim Walz’s service; I’m criticizing the fact that he lied about his service to gain political advantage,” Vance said, accusing Walz of “scandalous behavior.” “It’s not OK to falsify or exaggerate what you did, and I think that’s what he did,” Vance said.

Walz served in the Army National Guard for 24 years before retiring to run for Congress in 2005. He deployed with his unit to Italy in 2003 in support of the U.S. war effort in Afghanistan, but was not deployed to a zone combat as part of their service.

Vance pointed out that retired Sergeant Major Doug Julin, who was Walz’s superior and is a longtime critic of the Minnesota governor, told CNNon Friday (9), that Walz avoided his deployment in Iraq by retiring months before being deployed. Notification of the mission came in the fall of 2004, before Walz retired, Julin said.

“He knew he was going to Iraq,” Vance said. “He decided to give up – retire; whatever word you want to use… because he wanted to run for Congress. He lied about it. He said that when he decided to retire, he didn’t know he was going to Iraq. This is another untrue, as even your senior military officer has said,” Vance said.

“I’m not criticizing your service. I am criticizing dishonesty – dishonesty spoken in favor of and for purposes of political benefit.”

He also said Harris’ selection of Walz is “a serious lapse in judgment.”

“And I don’t want to hear it from a Kamala Harris campaign spokesperson; I want to hear Kamala Harris address what I just said,” Vance said. “He said he served in the war, and he didn’t. This is dishonesty. The truth is that Tim Walz did not tell the truth, and most importantly, this concerns the Kamala Harris trial.”

Access to the abortion pill

Vance said that if reelected, Trump would not try to block access to the abortion drug mifepristone. However, he said the former president would let states make the decision on abortion policy — a position he acknowledged would lead to a mosaic of policies, including blue states with fewer restrictions and red states with more.

Asked about Kate Cox, the Texas woman who had to leave the state for an abortion after her fetus was diagnosed with a rare and fatal genetic condition, Vance said, “My heart breaks for this woman.”

He said Trump “is not trying to prevent women who have non-viable pregnancies from accessing the medical care they need.”

“But what President Trump said is we’re going to let the voters make those decisions. You have to let the voters make those decisions,” Vance said. “I think we have to let the voters decide, and when they express themselves, you have to respect it.”

Vance said he was not personally “making judgments about what those laws should be.”

Political influence on interest rates

Vance said he agreed with Trump’s comment at a news conference last week that presidents should “have at least a say” on Federal Reserve policy — a position that would undermine the central bank’s historic autonomy.

“The political leadership of this country should have more say over the monetary policy of this country. I agree with him. This should fundamentally be a political decision. Agree or disagree, we should have America’s elected leaders having a hand in the most important decisions facing our country,” Vance said.

“Whether the country goes to war; what our interest rates are — these are important questions that American democracy should have important answers to,” he said.

“I think all President Trump was saying was, look, it’s kind of strange that you have so many bureaucrats making so many important decisions. If the American people don’t like our interest rate policy, they should elect someone different to change that policy. Nothing should be above democratic debate in this country when it comes to the big issues facing America.”

More attacks on Kamala Harris

After Trump caused controversy by questioning the racial heritage of Harris – whose parents were immigrants from Jamaica and India – Vance said he believes she “is what she says she is.”

However, he again portrayed Harris as a political “chameleon,” arguing that this was the point Trump was trying to make with his false comments at the recent National Association of Black Journalists convention.

“She is not running a political campaign. She is directing a film. She only speaks to voters from behind a teleprompter. Everything is scripted. She doesn’t have her political views publicized,” Vance said.

He also pointed to the liberal positions Harris took during the 2020 Democratic presidential primary — a race she abandoned in 2019 before the first votes were counted.

“She didn’t answer why she wanted to ban fracking, but now she doesn’t; She wanted to defund the police, but now she doesn’t; she wanted to open the border, but now she doesn’t,” Vance said.

“She should have to answer why she presents a different set of policies to one audience and another set of policies to another audience,” he said. “And I think that’s what President Trump was trying to say. This is a fundamentally false person. She is different depending on who is in front of her.”

This content was originally created in English.

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