'Verbal jujitsu:' ABC host ends interview as JD Vance refuses to answer bribery question
ABC's George Stephanopoulos, a host and former White House Communications Director, shut down an interview with JD Vance after the vice president refused to answer a question about a reported bribery scheme.
Vance spoke with Stephanopoulos on ABC, and the host asked questions about reports that "Border Czar" Tom Homan had accepted a $50,000 bribe as part of an operation by the FBI years ago.
Instead of answering the direct question on whether Homan had accepted the money, Vance pivoted to talk about the shutdown, on which he blamed Democrats. He called the question a "left-wing rabbit hole."
"It's not a weird left-wing rabbit hole. I didn't insinuate anything," the host said as he abruptly ended the interview on Sunday. "I asked you whether Tom Homan accepted $50,000, as was heard on an audiotape recorded by the FBI in September 2024. And you did not answer the question. Thank you for your time this morning."
MSNBC correspondent Ken Dilanian said Vance had "engaged in verbal jujitsu as he avoided answering whether Homan kept $50K in taxpayer money from undercover FBI agents," and highlighted ABC's response on social media.