Reacting to J.D. Vance’s abruptly aborted appearance on ABC on Sunday, former GOP campaign adviser Rick Wilson ridiculed the vice president's latest “embarrassing” stab at getting out of Donald Trump’s shadow and casting himself as the MAGA heir apparent.
On Sunday, host George Stephanopoulos pulled the plug on the vice president for refusing to answer questions about the accusation that border czar Tom Homan was filmed accepting a $50,000 bribe in a sting operation, with Vance responding with insults instead.
In his Substack column on Monday, Wilson praised the ABC host for not letting Vance get away with it.
Noting that the Ohio Republican appeared to be aping Trump’s “churlish, transgressive bully” act, Wilson called it yet another audition by Vance for the MAGA faithful as he waits for Trump to depart the stage — one way or another.
“Vance watches (and probably smells) Trump rotting from the inside out, knowing the Three Ds - Donnie, Dementia, and Depends - have him on an inside track for the Presidency, even before 2028," he wrote.
"He sees the coming death not only of Trump, but of the MAGA movement’s focus on Trump alone,” he wrote, before adding that the vice president’s strategy is “as obvious as it is embarrassing.”
As he colorfully noted, “Vance (if that’s his real name) understands that the seeds he sows today are the predicates for his 2028 presidential run. Every single thing Vance does, right down to his morning constitutional, should be viewed as part of that plan. He’ll have to take out the Trump children, and other MAGA aspirants for the Fecal Throne.”
Pointing out, “The media game played by MAGA politicians, whether it’s Donald Trump, Mike Johnson, or JD Vance, or any of a thousand lesser choads, runs by a simple rule: you can lie, you can level any attack against any reporter, no matter how outrageous, and you can refuse to answer any questions but the ones in your head, as long as you own the libs.”
He added that Stephanopoulos called the vice president’s bluff and, “ Threw J.D. Vance off the air. You could see the shock in Vance’s eyes as Stephanopoulos ended the interview, politely, but with a finality that meant something.”
“The media has options. You can deprive them of the airwaves and your attention. You can produce framing content that calls out their lies,” he wrote before advising, “Breaking their game isn’t easy. Abandoning the old ‘well, both sides…’ mindset raises hackles. Do it anyway. They need you more than you need them.”