Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance sharply criticized NBC News host Kristen Welker for repeatedly attempting to “bait” him with challenging questions during a tense interview. The exchange focused on former President Trump’s suggestion of appointing a special prosecutor to investigate President Joe Biden. When Welker pressed Vance on whether he would support Trump taking such an action, Vance defended the idea, arguing that investigating potential wrongdoing by the Biden administration was reasonable. He pointed out that the Biden administration had engaged in what he described as a campaign of lawfare against political opponents and suggested that Trump’s proposal was simply a call for basic investigations into the actions of the previous administration.
As the conversation progressed, Vance rejected Welker’s premise, emphasizing that the Biden administration had appointed Attorney General Merrick Garland, who could be fired by Biden, thus making the claim of an independent Justice Department questionable. Vance also highlighted the involvement of a former Department of Justice official in the prosecution of Trump, which he argued cast doubt on the legitimacy of the case. Welker pressed for clarity on whether Vance would support Trump using the Justice Department to target political opponents, to which he responded by asserting that investigating credible allegations of wrongdoing was necessary for upholding law and order. Vance concluded by stating that Trump’s actions would not be a threat to democracy, but rather a reinforcement of the legal system, contrasting the situation with what he perceived as unprecedented behavior under the Biden administration.