NEW YORK - OCTOBER 01: Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) participates in a debate at the CBS Broadcast Center on October 1, 2024 in New York City. This is expected to be the only vice presidential debate of the 2024 general election. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

‘So you made it up’: Jake Tapper cuts through JD Vance’s unproven conspiracy theory

Jake Tapper from CNN didn’t leave any room for JD Vance to skirt around his questions about Donald Trump and John Kelly.

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In this sit-down interview, Tapper confronted Vance about an allegation he made against John Kelly. Vance, prior to the interview, said that John Kelly was in contact with Kamala Harris’ campaign team. Tapper brought up that he has spoken to people in Harris’ campaign and John Kelly’s circle. Both parties denied that Kelly and Harris’ team were in communication.

Vance says he’s “highly skeptical” that Kelly and Harris’ campaign were not in contact. “You know how these attacks work.” He attempted to derail the conversation in conspiratorial waters, but Tapper stayed on topic.

“So you made it up?” To this, Vance denies making anything up and expressed skepticism about the media and the Democratic Party. Vance also clarifies that he will “apologize” to John Kelly if it’s proven that he was never in contact with Kamala Harris’ campaign team. Kelly gave a character reference to Trump—rightfully so as someone who has worked with Trump for years. Vance, on the other hand, claims that Kelly is somewhat in cahoots with the Harris campaign team without solid evidence.

A campaign hinged on misinformation

It’s easier to apologize once the damage has been done. It’s a tactic that Vance has employed throughout the presidential campaign. He was informed that Haitian immigrants were not eating pets but propagated the lie regardless. In the CNN interview, Tapper told Vance that Trump intends to use the military against “the enemy within.” This refers to Americans who dissent against Trump—Vance denied that Trump ever made the statement.

Despite the well-documented evidence of Trump saying those words on record, Vance merely reduced these people into “far-left lunatics.” As one of the comments on CNN’s video says, “This is the definition of gas lighting.” It isn’t just gas lighting, though. Vance is actively distorting information to fool voters.


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Vanessa Esguerra
Vanessa Esguerra (She/They) has been a Contributing Writer for The Mary Sue since 2023. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy, she (happily) rejected law school in 2021 and has been a full-time content writer since. Vanessa is currently taking her Master's degree in Japanese Studies in hopes of deepening her understanding of the country's media culture in relation to pop culture, women, and queer people like herself. She speaks three languages but still manages to get lost in the subways of Tokyo with her clunky Japanese. Fueled by iced coffee brewed from local cafés in Metro Manila, she also regularly covers anime and video games while queuing for her next match in League of Legends.