JD Vance Grilled by Margaret Brennan

There he was, Vice President JD Vance, perched on the Face the Nation set like a man who’d walked into a courtroom with ketchup on his hands, ready to argue that tomatoes don’t count as evidence. Over the course of the interview, Vance delivered a masterclass in deflection, dishonesty, and the kind of smug self-assurance that only comes from years of pretending to care about “the common man” while cashing checks from the elites he claims to oppose.

Margaret Brennan opened the conversation with a question about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Trump’s newest avatar of chaos. Vance, ever the sycophant, called Hegseth a “disruptor,” which is apparently this administration’s euphemism for “wildly unqualified.” Vance waxed poetic about how Hegseth would “fix” the Department of Defense, which, in MAGA-speak, means breaking it beyond recognition. He dodged questions about Hegseth’s razor-thin confirmation margin, instead rambling about AI, drone warfare, and procurement processes as though he’d just skimmed a Wikipedia page five minutes before the interview.

When Brennan pivoted to Tulsi Gabbard’s nomination as Director of National Intelligence, Vance’s spin was dizzying. He claimed Gabbard would “restore trust” in the intelligence community—a bold assertion about someone who once defended Assad and treated Snowden like a misunderstood poet. Critics from both sides of the aisle have called her appointment a joke, but Vance, with the confidence of a man who’s never apologized for anything, brushed them off as “irrelevant.” This administration’s approach to governance seems to be one part nepotism, one part trolling, and two parts pure chaos.

But the real fireworks came when Brennan grilled Vance on the economy, specifically grocery prices. Vance launched into a breathless monologue about Trump’s first week in office, claiming he’d already achieved more than “Joe Biden’s entire presidency.” It was the kind of hyperbole that would make a used car salesman blush. He blamed energy prices for everything from the cost of bacon to the weather, promising that Trump’s executive orders would magically fix it all. Of course, when pressed on specifics, Vance had none. His response boiled down to: “Trust us. It’s going to be great. Eventually.”

The absurdity reached new heights when Brennan brought up Springfield, Ohio—the town now infamous for Vance’s baseless claims about Haitian migrants eating pets. Local officials, including the Republican governor, have repeatedly debunked these rumors, but Vance wasn’t backing down. Instead, he doubled down, arguing that the media wouldn’t have covered the “suffering” of Springfield if he hadn’t stirred the pot. This wasn’t just lying; it was weaponized dishonesty, the kind of rhetoric designed to inflame tensions and stoke fear.

Springfield’s mayor has begged for the lies to stop, warning of the real harm they’re causing, but Vance dismissed it all as irrelevant. His defense? Something about “cat memes” and “creating a story,” which sounded more like the ramblings of an unhinged internet troll than the Vice President of the United States. Meanwhile, threats against the town’s Haitian community have skyrocketed, schools have been evacuated, and the Proud Boys are reportedly marching through the streets. This is what Vance calls “focusing the media.”

Vance’s disdain for accountability was on full display when Brennan brought up immigration raids on schools and churches, a policy condemned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Rather than address the moral concerns, Vance attacked the bishops themselves, accusing them of caring more about “their bottom line” than the public good. The hypocrisy was staggering: a man who’d sold his integrity to the Trump machine accusing anyone else of selfishness. It was a carnival of bad faith arguments, each more grotesque than the last.

And then there was the matter of Trump’s blanket pardons for January 6 rioters. Vance claimed these were carefully considered, a case-by-case review of over 1,600 individuals. Sure. Because nothing says “judicious review” like pardoning violent criminals who tasered cops and smashed their way into the Capitol. When Brennan pressed him on specific cases, Vance spun furiously, arguing that the “weaponized DOJ” had unfairly targeted these individuals. The mental gymnastics were impressive, if nauseating.

By the time the interview ended, Vance had somehow managed to dodge responsibility for everything while taking credit for nothing. He’d spun tales of conspiracies, doubled down on debunked claims, and defended policies so draconian they’d make Orwell blush.

Watching JD Vance speak is like watching a man try to sell you a used couch at a garage sale—one that’s visibly stained, smells faintly of wet dog, and has a sagging middle cushion that’s clearly seen too much. He’s standing there with a straight face, calling it “a timeless classic” while you’re trying to figure out if the smell is mold or regret. He knows you’re not buying it, but he keeps pitching, confident that if he repeats himself enough times, you’ll somehow ignore the glaringly obvious. If this is leadership, we’re all sinking into the cushions and hoping they don’t swallow us whole.