Ohio Sen. JD Vance claimed in Tuesday’s vice presidential debate that former President Donald Trump “peacefully” transferred power after losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden, despite Trump’s actions during the Capitol insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.
“It’s really rich for democratic leaders to say that Donald Trump is a unique threat to democracy when he peacefully gave over power on Jan. 20, as we have done for 250 years in this country,” Vance said.
The riot of pro-Trump supporters who overran the Capitol that day led to several deaths, including one police officer, and injuries to more than 150 federal and local officers.
The spin on the events of Jan. 6 came as Vance and his opponent, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, argued over threats to democracy, with Walz saying Trump himself was one of the biggest threats.
Vance said Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, protested the results of the 2016 election.
Vance said he would “respect the results” of the upcoming election.
“We are going to shake hands after this debate and after this election. And of course I hope that we win, and I think we’re going to win, but if Tim Walz is the next vice president, he’ll have my prayers, he’ll have my best wishes, and he’ll have my help whenever he wants it,” he said.
With just more than a month to go before Election Day Vance and Walz met for their first and only vice presidential debate on Oct. 1, hosted by CBS in New York.
For more context, our partner PolitiFact is live fact-checking the debate: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/live-fact-check-vance-and-walz-meet-for-presidential-debate
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