Sunday Snapshot: How JD Vance defines Vladimir Putin
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Republican vice presidential nominee, Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) speaks during a campaign rally at the Elite Jet at Contact Aviation facility on Oct. 24 in Waterford, Michigan. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images
With the countdown to Election Day in the single digits, GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance returned to the familiar Sunday show stage.
In his sometimes hostile sit-downs with three networks, Vance zoomed in on foreign policy while touting an image of former President Trump as a "candidate of peace," as the GOP nominee continues to deliver controversial closing arguments.
Here's what you may have missed when newsmakers hit the airwaves this Sunday, Oct. 27.
1. Vance: Putin is an "adversary" — but won't label him an "enemy"
Asked on "Meet the Press" whether he sees Russian President Vladimir Putin as an ally or an enemy, Sen. JD Vance's (R-Ohio) answer was none of the above.
- "I think that he's clearly an adversary. He is a competitor," Vance said.
The big picture: U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed Wednesday that North Korea had sent 3,000 troops to Russia, a development that both Ukraine and South Korea had warned about.
- Moscow has also deepened its efforts to spread disinformation to capitalize on divisions in the U.S. and inspire doubt over the Nov. 5 election.
What he's saying: "We're not in a war with him, and I don't want to be in a war with Vladimir Putin's Russia," Vance told NBC's Kristen Welker, saying, "We have to be careful about the language that we use in international diplomacy."
- Trump refused to say in his sole debate against Vice President Kamala Harris whether he wanted Ukraine to win its war against Russia.
Friction point: Vance affirmed that a second Trump administration would not pull the U.S. from NATO, despite the former president's harsh criticism of the alliance and reported threats to leave it.
Zoom out: Asked on CBS News' "Face the Nation" what price Russia should pay for trying to manipulate American voters using a fake video of Pennsylvania ballots being destroyed, Vance said the country should not set its policy based on "a foreign country spreading videos on social media."
- "I think it's bad," he said to CBS News' Margaret Brennan. "But social media posts and social media videos, Margaret, you want us to go to war because the Russians made a ridiculous video or paid for it?"
- Pressed by Brennan on repercussions Russia could face for alleged election interference, Vance said sanctions put in place by the Biden-Harris administration against Moscow have "gone off like a wet firecracker."
- He continued: "I don't think that we should overreact to anything. What we should do is encourage our fellow Americans to be careful, don't trust everything that you see on social media, and, of course, we should push back where appropriate."
2. Vance disputes meaning of Trump's 'enemy from within' comment
In a fiery appearance on CNN's "State of the Union," Vance and network host Jake Tapper clashed over a controversial comment from Trump.
Driving the news: In a pre-taped interview, Tapper asked Vance about Trump saying he would use the military on "the enemy within" the U.S. and go after Americans.
- Vance disputed the question, challenging Tapper to show him the quote where Trump said he would do so.
What they're saying: A contentious exchange between the GOP vice presidential nominee and the CNN anchor followed, with Vance saying that Trump's comments were about "far-left lunatics" and "people rioting after the election."
- Tapper pointed to additional comments Trump made in a separate interview where he named former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) as "bad people" and among the so-called "enemy from within."
- The former president doubled down on the comments about Schiff and Pelosi a few days later on Fox News' "MediaBuzz."
- "[Trump] said that he wanted to use the military to go after far-left lunatics who were rioting. And he also called them –- he also called them the enemy within," Vance said.
The tense interview devolved into a back-and-forth argument about the intention of Trump's words with Vance insisting that Tapper was "smashing together two different conversations" before the questions shifted to other topics.
3. Sen. Sanders warns of Musk's meddling
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) warned of Elon Musk's growing influence in politics Sunday, questioning, "if, God forbid, Trump would win, whether it would be Elon Musk running the government and Trump working for him."
Catch up quick: The billionaire tech mogul has asserted his place as a GOP megadonor and a fervent Trump supporter, funneling millions into his own pro-Trump America PAC.
- Musk has come under fire for his million-dollar giveaways to registered voters, a tendency to spread disinformation to his scores of X followers and, following a Wall Street Journal report, his alleged "regular contact" with Putin.
- Trump has also floated a potential role for Musk if he wins the White House, teasing in an interview that the SpaceX CEO could be the "Secretary of Cost Cutting."
What he's saying: "The idea that you have somebody like Musk who has massive amounts of federal contracts campaigning hard, putting large amounts of money into Trump's campaign — man, if there's ever been a conflict of interest, that's it," Sanders said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
- Tesla and SpaceX account for at least $15.4 billion in government contracts over the past decade, per the New York Times.
- But his companies have also faced several legal battles and federal investigations.
Speaking at a town hall Saturday, Musk downplayed the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol where more than 100 law enforcement officers were assaulted, arguing it was not a violent insurrection.
- He also said those "who say Trump is a threat to democracy are themselves a threat to democracy."
More from Axios' Sunday coverage:
