Vance addresses previous criticism of Trump: ‘I was wrong about Donald Trump’

One of Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance’s biggest debate moments was when he explained his complete reversal of feelings about his running mate.

Vance was asked at the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate on Tuesday how he went from calling Trump potentially “America’s Hitler” and an “idiot” to joining the former president’s 2024 ticket.

“Sometimes, of course, I’ve disagreed with the president, but I’ve also been extremely open about the fact that I was wrong about Donald Trump. I was wrong, first of all, because I believed some of the media stories that turned out to be dishonest fabrications of his record,” Vance said Tuesday night. 

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Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz shake hands at the debate moderated by Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York City. (Michele Crowe/CBS via Getty Images)

He continued, “But most importantly, Donald Trump delivered for the American people rising wages, rising take-home pay, an economy that worked for normal Americans, a secure southern border. A lot of things, frankly, that I didn’t think he’d be able to deliver on.”

Fox News’ Debate Dial audience feedback system showed viewers’ approval rates shooting in different directions during Vance’s explanation of how he came to be a Trump supporter. 

Republican audience approval surged past 80% and at one point even over 90%, maintaining solid support throughout Vance’s statement.

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Sen. JD Vance and Gov. Tim Walz are shown on screen in the spin room during the vice presidential debate at the CBS Broadcast Center in New York. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, Democratic viewers expressed discontent – ratings from Democrats fell below 40% and at one point bottomed out near 20%.

Vance emphasized that there were mistakes made in the first Trump administration that he wishes could have been handled better, but placed a significant portion of blame on Congress.

“There were a lot of things on the border, on tariffs, for example, where I think that we could have done so much more if the Republican Congress and the Democrats in Congress had been a little bit better about how they govern the country. They were so obsessed with impeaching Donald Trump, they couldn’t actually govern,” Vance said.

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Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during his debate with Sen. JD Vance in New York. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Debate Dial data showed independents were more tempered in their reactions to the segment, hovering mostly between 40% and 60% approval.