J.D. Vance repeatedly voiced his belief that Donald Trump had sexually assaulted women and questioned his credibility, according to a report resurfaced Tuesday.
The former president's newly tapped running mate appeared on MSNBC in October 2016 after former salesperson Lisa Leeds accused Trump of groping and forcibly kissing her on a flight in the 1970s, and Vance said it was difficult to believe his denials, reported CNN.
“At a fundamental level, this is sort of a ‘he said, she said,’ right? And at the end of the day, do you believe Donald Trump, who always tells the truth? Just kidding,” said Vance sarcastically. “Or do you believe that woman on that tape?”
However, in May 2023, the GOP senator's position changed entirely when asked on CNN about a jury finding Trump liable for sex abuse against author E. Jean Carroll.
“I think fundamentally the lawsuit is about something that happened 25 years ago," Vance told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "It’s a ‘he said, she said’ situation, and I trust my friend and the guy that I’ve known and gotten to know."
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“They are trying to take him down for political reasons," Vance added. "That, to me, is not about justice, that’s not about discovering the truth. That’s about using the legal system instead of the political system to win a debate against Donald Trump.”
That defense of Trump is a striking change from his comments and social media posts from fall 2016, after the "Access Hollywood" tape was revealed, showing the GOP presidential candidate bragging to a TV host that he had gotten away with molesting women in the past due to his celebrity status.
“What percentage of the American population has @realDonaldTrump sexually assaulted?” Vance tweeted in October 2016.
Vance also liked a number of tweets indicating he agreed Trump had sexually abused women and lied about it later.
“I wish there was a 2nd Vice Presidential debate just to see @GovPenceIN deny that Trump said he grabbed p*ssy," read one post liked by Vance.
