JD Vance praises Trump for talking to ‘someone’ when pressed about dinner with Nick Fuentes

ABC News’ Jonathan Karl on Sunday pressed Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) over former President Donald Trump’s controversial statement. dinner with Nick Fuentes, a white supremacist who has made racist comments against his wife Usha Vance.

Karl, in a sit-down interview with Trump’s running mate, noted the “really nasty things” Fuentes said about the candidate’s family when he asked if a “A man who has an Indian wife and named his child Vivek will support white identity” last month.

“He said these horrible things, but he said – I mean, he’s a white supremacist,” Karl told Vance.

“Look, I think so – President Trump has made a lot of condemnations about this. The only thing I like,” Vance replied.

“But not from Fuentes,” Karl interjected.

“The one thing I like about Donald Trump, Jon, is that he wants to talk to everyone,” Vance said.

He continued, “But just because you talk to someone doesn’t mean you endorse their opinion. And look, I mean Donald Trump has been spending a lot of quality time with my wife. Every time he sees her, he gives her a hug, tells her she’s beautiful and jokes around with her.”

Earlier in the interview, Karl read Fuentes’ comments to Vance’s face, calling them “racist garbage.”

“Yes, it is,” replied Vance, who previously acknowledged but did not condemn the white supremacist attacks in an interview last month.

“But this is also a man who had dinner with Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago during this campaign,” Karl said, referring to Fuentes’ dinner with Trump and Ye — the artist formerly known as Kanye West and who played Adolf Hitler has praised – in 2022. .

Vance suggested that Trump “knows nothing about Fuentes and frankly doesn’t care” before describing his “attitude” toward people attacking his wife.

‘She’s beautiful, she’s smart. What kind of man marries Usha? A very smart man and a very happy man, most importantly,” Vance said.

He continued, “And my view is, look, if these guys want to attack me or attack my positions, my policy views, my personality, then come after me. But don’t attack my wife, she is beyond your reach.’

Vance stated later in the interview that he was not concerned about Trump at all, but was “sometimes concerned about these ridiculous attacks.”

“But again, this is what you sign up for when you get into politics,” he said.

“I wish people would keep it focused on me. But either way, they’re going to say what they’re going to say. My wife is strong enough to deal with it and that’s a good thing.”