Vice President JD Vance sat through nearly an hour of hostile questioning on ABC’s “The View” Tuesday, defending the Trump administration on the economy, the Epstein Files, and immigration while promoting his new book on faith.
Vance joined the left-leaning daytime show to discuss “Communion,” his newly released book chronicling his journey from protestant to atheist to Catholic. The hosts instead used the platform to press him on political flashpoints — frequently interrupting and interjecting as he responded.
“When I talk to my friends and family who supported you and still support you, one issue comes up: the economy. Wages are down, gas prices are starting to drop at news of the Iran deal. What can you say to voters who trusted you to lower costs?”
Vance pushed back calmly. “That’s ultimately up to the voters. Voters have every right to expect as much as possible out of their representatives. We were elected on a number of mandates: One, to close the border, which we have done successfully. Exceeded expectations. Lower prices; there’s work to do.”
He pointed to oil dropping from $120 to $80 a barrel following the Iran deal, which he said will translate to lower fuel, food, and energy costs. “There’s a lot more work to do,” he said.
Vance highlighted manufacturing job growth and capital investment flowing into forgotten towns like his hometown of Middletown, Ohio — a steel town where his grandfather worked union steel jobs before the factories shut down.
Host Ana Navarro accused Trump of saying “he loved inflation.”
“What he said is he loves inflation is going to come down when this war is over. That’s what he said,” Vance replied.
“That’s not what he said. Are you his interpreter or his vice president? Come on,” Joy Behar shot back.
Vance held his ground. “People were asking about inflation. They were asking about the affordability problem, which is very real. He said I love the inflation because it’s going to come down when the war is over.”
He noted gas prices currently sit at $4.06 a gallon — still too high, but down from recent weeks.
“I am frankly a conspiracy theorist on the Epstein stuff. That’s one thing that’s true. I wanted to have full transparency.”
The interview pivoted to a New York Times report claiming Vance convened cabinet members in the Situation Room to manage fallout from the Epstein Files release. Sunny Hostin asked why Vance allegedly floated having Tucker Carlson interview Ghislaine Maxwell to clear Trump’s name.
“Don’t believe everything that you read in any newspaper, whether it’s a right leaning people or paper or left-leaning. There are things true, false, and missing context,” Vance said. He confirmed he pushed for full transparency on the files.
“One of the things you see in the Epstein emails is that Epstein hated Donald Trump. Donald Trump literally reported Jeffrey Epstein to the police. That’s one of the things that came out of the files,” Vance said, defending his boss as the hosts interjected.
Navarro countered: “It was allegedly over a real estate deal they got into a fight over. Let’s be truthful and transparent. They didn’t just know each other. They were close friends.”
“He reported him to the police. That’s true,” Vance replied.
Vance rejected the premise that Trump only released the files under pressure from congressional Republicans. “The idea that Donald Trump runs around afraid of Republican congressmen as opposed to the other way around is kind of crazy.”
The hosts also challenged Vance to square the administration’s immigration enforcement with his Catholic faith and pressed him on diversity policy. Mid-interview, Vance interjected to steer the conversation back to his book, noting most of it isn’t about politics.
Whoopi Goldberg closed by asking Vance why the administration has “stigmatized folks of color,” referencing the murder of Emmett Till in 1955 and vague claims about “removal of information.”
“I think everybody is welcome in our political coalition. Frankly, even if you didn’t vote for us, everybody is welcome in our country so long as you are an American citizen with the duties and obligations and rights to be here,” Vance responded.
