Donald Trump Jr. was given an awkward reminder during a live TV appearance following the vice presidential debate between Republican JD Vance and Democrat Tim Walz on Tuesday night.
During a contentious interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Trump Jr. criticized the media for allegedly creating a political environment that led to two assassination attempts on his father, former President Donald Trump.
He claimed, “When someone calls, and allows people to have a platform to call someone literally Hitler every day for 9 years, it creates it. Whether you want to believe it or not, that’s a fact.”
CNN’s Kaitlan Collins quickly countered his assertion, stating, “You can’t blame the media for those threats.”
“When someone calls, and allows people to have a platform to call, someone literally Hitler every day for 9 years, it creates it,” Trump shot back. “Whether you want to believe it or not, that’s a fact.”
Then came the bombshell: Collins reminded Trump Jr. that Vance himself had previously drawn parallels between Trump and Hitler.
“JD Vance once likened your dad to Hitler as well,” she noted, referencing Vance’s past comments where he questioned if Trump was “America’s Hitler.”
Vance, who was once an outspoken critic of Trump, had described him as “a cynical asshole like Nixon” in a 2016 conversation. He has also called Trump an “idiot” and a “total fraud,” and called himself a “Never Trump guy.”
“I think that he’s noxious and is leading the white working class to a very dark place,” Vance told NPR in 2016.
He has since changed his stance, stating he was wrong about Trump during the debate, and also placed blame on the media for shaping his previous opinions.
This exchange highlights the ongoing tensions within the Republican Party and raises questions about the narratives being pushed by Trump loyalists in the face of their past criticisms.
Watch the exchange below: