Vance’s First Media Interview as Vice President: Top 5 Insights
The vice president addressed various topics, such as pricing, immigration, the events of January 6, and additional matters.
Vice President JD Vance participated in his inaugural media interview on Sunday after taking office, where he defended the recent initiatives of the Trump administration.
Reducing Prices
During the conversation, Vance was asked about President Donald Trump’s promise from the 2024 campaign regarding lowering grocery prices. He acknowledged that achieving this will take time, mentioning that Trump had only been in office for less than a week.
“There have been multiple executive orders already leading to job growth in our country, which fundamentally supports price reduction,” the vice president stated. “Increased capital investment and job creation within our economy will drive down costs for consumers while also raising wages, allowing them to afford essential goods.”
When Brennan countered his statement, Vance highlighted that Trump cannot “reverse all the repercussions of Joe Biden’s presidency in just four days,” adding that “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
“Donald Trump has already initiated several executive actions aimed at lowering energy costs, and I genuinely believe this will result in reduced prices for consumers at gas stations and grocery stores, though it will require some time,” he noted.
Vance mentioned that Trump’s initiatives to tackle energy pricing and boost drilling will also affect everyday expenses.
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Birthright Citizenship
Vance also defended Trump’s executive order aimed at terminating automatic birthright citizenship, which has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge as of January 23.
“America should prioritize the well-being of its citizens,” Vance asserted. “If someone is here lawfully and permanently, their child becomes an American citizen.”
The order, enacted shortly after Trump assumed office, instructed federal agencies to refrain from issuing citizenship documents to children born on American soil to parents who entered the U.S. illegally or are on temporary visas. The order remains blocked by a judge for the time being.
Vance stated that “if you visit on vacation and have a child in an American hospital, that child does not automatically become an American citizen,” and, “if you are an illegal immigrant and enter temporarily, your child should not automatically gain citizenship just because they were born here.”
Big Tech
When questioned about the presence of Big Tech founders or CEOs at Trump’s inauguration on January 20, Vance stated that the administration fundamentally believes that Big Tech holds excessive power.
“They can choose to either honor America’s constitutional rights and cease censorship, or they can expect that Donald Trump’s leadership will not be forgiving,” he declared.
Notable figures such as Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, Oracle’s Larry Ellison, X’s Elon Musk, Apple’s Tim Cook, and Google’s Sundar Pichai were among those who attended the inauguration.
Response to Criticism from Catholic Groups
Last week, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and various other Catholic organizations released a statement objecting to the Trump administration’s immigration policies that permit U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to enter places of worship and educational institutions.
“Catholic health care, Catholic Charities, and the Church’s various social services actively work to provide for people’s needs across our communities … through our parishes, shelters, hospitals, schools, and other Church entities, we affirm that every human being’s dignity is not contingent on citizenship or immigration status,” read the statement from the religious group.
He claimed that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops “has not effectively collaborated on reasonable immigration enforcement that reflects what the American populace desires.”
“I believe the US Conference of Catholic Bishops ought to introspect and consider, when they receive over $100 million to assist in resettling illegal immigrants, are they focused on humanitarian issues?” Vance posed. “Or are they primarily concerned with maintaining their financial interests?”
In response to Brennan’s inquiry about whether he thinks the policy change regarding ICE operations near churches and schools will create a “chilling effect,” Vance expressed his hope that it will.
“I sincerely hope it creates a chilling effect … on illegal immigrant entries into our nation,” the vice president remarked.
Trump’s Pardons Related to January 6
Soon after Trump took office last week, he pardoned approximately 1,500 individuals involved in the January 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, a decision that faced backlash from both Democrats and some Republicans in Congress.
When questioned about the rationale for pardoning those convicted of violence during January 6, Vance remarked that the Department of Justice had “denied constitutional protections in the prosecutions” and expressed his belief that there were “double standards in how sentences were issued to January 6 participants as opposed to other groups.”
“We examined 1,600 cases,” he revealed. “The outcome was that there was a significant denial of due process rights, and numerous individuals experienced violations of their constitutional rights. The president believes this, I support him, and I think he reached the correct conclusion.”
Later, Vance clarified that while he does not condone violence against police officers, he believes the DOJ was weaponized during the preceding administration.
“The power to pardon is not reserved just for individuals who are completely innocent or faultless. While we care deeply for law enforcement and expect peaceful behavior from everyone, particularly towards our dedicated officers, we acted to correct an injustice, and I stand by that,” he concluded.
Reuters contributed to this report.
