Vice President JD Vance was criticized for hypocrisy after a video resurfaced of him vowing in February that the Trump administration will defend free speech—a pledge that hasn't aged well at all considering ABC's suspension of Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Last week, President Donald Trump saw an opening to get late-night host Jimmy Kimmel off the air and successfully pressured ABC to do so following comments Kimmel made about the assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk.
ABC's decision to suspend Kimmel's program came after Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), hinted his agency could take action against ABC over comments the host made during Monday’s broadcast.
Trump has since set his sights on Kimmel's fellow late-night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers, actions backed by Vance, who last week went so far as to host the late Kirk's podcast and baselessly claim, despite statistics to the contrary, that the far-left is more likely to commit political violence than the far-right.
Amid all this, a video resurfaced of Vance defending the Trump administration as a bastion of free speech during February's Munich Secretary Conference:
"Our own government encouraged private companies to silence people who dared to utter what turned out to be an obvious truth. So I come here today not just with an observation but with an offer."
“And just as the Biden administration seemed desperate to silence people for speaking their minds, so the Trump administration will do precisely the opposite, and I hope that we can work together on that."
“In Washington, there is a new sheriff in town. And under Donald Trump’s leadership, we may disagree with your views, but we will fight to defend your right to offer it in the public square, agree or disagree.”
You can hear what Vance said in the video below.
That sure was something to hear given the decision to pull Kimmel off the air, an action taken at Trump's behest. Trump has celebrated the move and vowed to go after media organizations who he claims only give him "bad press."
Those words, to say nothing of Vance's own, are ironic considering the lengths the administration has gone to punish anyone they perceive isn't bending the knee enough to honor Kirk, who was assassinated September 10 and has since become a martyr of sorts for the far-right. The administration has blamed leftists for Kirk's murder despite evidence the shooter was a conservative.
And what's all that about free speech, given that the administration refuses to cooperate with members of Congress and has pushed back against protests calling for the release of the Epstein files, in which Trump is suspected of being heavily featured?
People were quick to call out Vance's hypocrisy.
Your move, JD.
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