Vance quietly 'stabbing the president in the back' over Epstein fallout: analyst
President Donald Trump listens as Vice President JD Vance speaks during a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, on September 17, 2022. REUTERS/Gaelen Morse/
July 16, 2026
An analyst on Thursday revealed why Vice President JD Vance's comments on the Epstein files threw President Donald Trump and his administration under the bus.
Journalist Chuck Todd told CNN that Vance's stunning admission during his interview Wednesday with Joe Rogan uncovers more about Vance — who has called himself an "OG conspiracy theorist" — and how he plans to position himself politically among fellow conservatives and the MAGA movement.
"Ithink that tells you a littlebit more about Vance's ownpolitics, right?" Todd said.
"He wants tostay in the good graces of that part of the informationecosystem that has been ... aportion of MAGA where Epsteinand that scandal has been animportant rallying cry, if youwill," Todd added. "And it shows you, I think, Vance wants to be one of them."
Vance made a quiet confession to Rogan when he described the DOJ's release of the highly anticipated materials as a communications problem.
"So, in a weird way, he waspushing distance because thecomms problem was the president,right?" Todd said. "It was the comms issue that he talks about: the president slow-walking the legislation, trying to stop it from being passed in the House, trying to stop it from being passed in the Senate, then finally stopping it from being released, trying to do that crazy deal with Ghislaine Maxwell. So in his own way, hewas stabbing thepresident in the back with thosecomments."