JD Vance said Donald Trump could not be racist—despite his past association with white supremacist Nick Fuentes—because of the “quality time” he’s spent with his wife.
Vance dismissed Fuentes’ openly xenophobic comments about his wife in an interview with ABC’s Jonathan Karl on Sunday after Karl noted the “racist garbage” Fuentes had lobbed his way. Fuentes questioned Vance’s marriage to Usha Vance in a podcast last month, wondering “what kind of a man marries somebody named Usha? Clearly, he doesn’t value his racial identity, his heritage.”
Still, Karl noted, Trump has not completely disavowed the white supremacist after he hosted Fuentes—alongside conspiratorial rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, for dinner in November 2022. “That was back a year and a half ago, and Trump still hasn’t given a full-throated denouncement of this guy,” Karl said. “I mean, he’s a white supremacist.”
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Vance demurred, claiming Trump has “issued plenty of condemnations on this.” Trump condemned white supremacists in 2020 after declining to do so during a debate with Joe Biden and he said Fuentes’ views “wouldn’t have been accepted” during his dinner if expressed, though he has not specifically disavowed Fuentes.
“The one thing I like about Donald Trump, Jon, is that he actually will talk to anybody,” Vance said. “But just because you talk to somebody doesn’t mean you endorse their views. And look, I mean Donald Trump spent a lot of quality time with my wife. Every time he sees her, he gives her a hug, tells her she’s beautiful, and jokes around with her a little bit.”
Trump‘s racist rhetoric came into full force last month after he questioned Vice President Kamala Harris’ race during an interview before the National Association of Black Journalists convention. He claimed Harris had “turned Black” and had only previously leaned into her Indian heritage. Harris’ father is Jamaican and her mother is Indian.
“I’m not at all worried about Donald Trump. I’m worried sometimes about these ridiculous attacks,” Vance continued. “But again, this is what you sign up for when you come into politics. I wish people would keep it focused on me. But, whatever. They’re going to say what they’re going to stay. My wife’s tough enough to handle it and that’s a good thing.”
