Beshear calls Vance ‘phony’ and ‘fake’ after comments about Biden’s mental capacity

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) called Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) a “phony” and a “phony” after the Republican vice presidential nominee criticized Democrats — in particular, Vice President Harris — for not publicly raising concerns about President Biden’s mental capacity previously.

In an interview on CNN’s “The Source” with Kaitlan Collins on Monday, Beshear responded to Vance’s criticism by saying the senator was “grasping at straws.”

“Listen, JD Vance is an imposter. He is fake. I mean, he first says Donald Trump is like Hitler, and now he’s acting like he’s Lincoln,” Beshear said of Vance, referring to his reversal in support of the president and his running mate.

Vance began his career in the public eye by writing a best-selling memoir that was sharply critical of Trump and his presidency. Vance called himself a “never Trump guy” and described Trump as an idiot and reprehensible. Behind closed doors, Vance reportedly compared Trump to Hitler.

In the Senate, however, Vance has been one of Trump’s staunchest supporters and an advocate of the “America First” mentality in his approach to politics.

“I mean, the problem with J.D. Vance is he has no convictions, but I think his running mate has 34,” Beshear added, referring to Trump’s conviction in New York on 34 counts of falsifying business records in a conspiracy to protect potentially harmful information. of the public before the 2016 elections.

Beshear was responding to a clip from a rally on Monday when Vance criticized Democrats for only now speaking out against President Biden, who dropped out of the race on Sunday but said he has no intention of resigning before then.

“This is not okay, ladies and gentlemen. You couldn’t, for three and a half years, accept a guy who clearly didn’t have the mental capacity to do the job,” Vance said at a rally in Middletown, Ohio, on Monday — his first solo rally since joining the ticket.

“Kamala Harris lied about this. My Senate Democratic colleagues lied about this. The media lied about this. Every person who saw Joe Biden knew he couldn’t do the job, and for three years they said nothing, until he became political deadweight,” Vance continued.

Before calling Vance a “phony,” Beshear pushed back on how Vance referred to the vice president, the clear favorite to replace Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket.

“Well, first, he should call the vice president by her title. She deserved it. She’s Vice President Harris,” Beshear said.

Beshear, a popular Democratic governor in a deep-red state, has been mentioned among candidates who could serve as Harris’ hypothetical vice president if she wins the Democratic nomination.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story