Senator JD Vance (R-Ohio) and CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins clashed Wednesday over the ongoing campus protests, the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol and former President Trump’s legal cases, as speculation mounts about Vance becoming Trump’s potential running mate in November.
Vance denounced mass pro-Palestinian protests on college campuses across the country, endorsing the New York Police Department’s action on Tuesday to disperse demonstrations at Columbia University. Police intervened after a group of protesters occupied a campus building, and the Ohio Republican said those protesters deserve criminal prosecution.
“You can’t police people for being pro-Israel or anti-Israel, but you can police people for breaking the law,” Vance said Wednesday in CNN’s “The Fountain with Kaitlan Collins.” “We saw a little bit of that in some of these protests.”
Collins questioned the first-term senator about his logic, pointing out an apparent double standard in the way he reacted to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
“I’m just checking in because you helped raise money for the people who did this on January 6th,” she pressed.
Vance has repeatedly defended those who participated in the insurrection and supported their goals, saying in February that if he were vice president, he would not have certified the results of the 2020 election.
In further discussion on January 6, the senator said he was “skeptical” that Vice President Mike Pence’s life was in danger during the riots, despite the crowd’s chants for him to be hanged and the gallows erected near the Capitol. .
“I’m really skeptical that Mike Pence’s life was ever in danger,” Vance said in the interview. “I think politics and people in politics like to exaggerate things from time to time.”
Collins interrupted, saying he thinks “Mike Pence would disagree.”
Vance also addressed Trump’s Supreme Court immunity case, in which the former president’s lawyers claim he cannot be prosecuted for “official acts” while still in the White House, adding that impeachment is also a prerequisite. for punishment. Although the former president was impeached for his alleged efforts to remain in power, the Senate did not vote to remove him from office.
Under tough questioning from liberal judges, Trump’s lawyers said the murder of a political rival could be considered an official act. Vance apparently agreed.
“Are you basically saying that if the president orders a military coup, do you believe the only solution to that is impeachment?” Collins questioned.
Vance ignored the question, saying the host was just “dealing in hypotheticals.”
Speculation has increased in recent weeks about Trump’s potential running mates, and Vance is a common name. He told Collins that he has not contacted the Trump campaign about a possible spot on the 2024 ticket.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
