JD Vance Defends Relationship with ‘Friend’ Tucker Carlson, Who Just Called For Trump’s Removal

 

Vice President JD Vance briefed the press from the White House podium on Thursday and was asked about his controversial relationship with internet provocateur Tucker Carlson, who has recently called for Trump to be impeached.

“Sorry, I’m always a little confused by the chaos here, and unfortunately I’m old and blind now, but let’s go to Kerry Picket,” Vance said as he read from the briefing room seating chart.

“Mr. President, Tucker Carlson has called for the president’s impeachment, and many have accused him of trying to jeopardize U.S.-Israel relations. What do you say to those who are uneasy with your close relationship with Carlson and claim that you’re avoiding addressing a lot of these issues, which may be causing divisions within the GOP?” asked Picket, the White House correspondent for the Washington Times.

“Well, look, I’m not avoiding addressing anything. Everybody knows that Tucker Carlson and I are friends, and I think it’s very obvious that Tucker has said some things that I disagree with. He said some things about the President of the United States that I think are just wrong,” Vance replied, adding:

I think yesterday somebody sent me a clip that said he would support [Abdul] El-Sayed over Rogers. I think El-Sayed’s a crazy person, and I think whatever your views on Mike Rogers’ specific policy prescriptions, I’d like to have a non-crazy person like Mike Rogers representing Michigan in the United States Senate, rather than a crazy person like El-Sayed.

That said, my attitude towards this — I try to practice what I preach. And I remember when I became the vice presidential nominee, one of the hardest things for me personally wasn’t when people attacked me, but when people attacked my wife, including friends of hers who knew her heart, who knew what a good person she was. And I remember thinking to myself, what a travesty it is that in the United States of America, we let political disagreements define who our friends are going to be and not going to be.

So yeah, Tucker is a friend of mine. Tucker is a friend, despite the fact that we disagree on a number of things. And I’m not gonna play the game where I throw friends under the bus because I have political disagreements with them. I think that is a terrible place for the United States to go. And if you have a disagreement with somebody politically, even over a deeply held issue, you should still be friends with that person, because the whole republic depends on people of different perspectives being able to talk to one another. That’s how I try to live my life, and I encourage everybody else to do the same. All right.

Watch the clip above via CNN.

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Alex Griffing is a Senior Editor at Mediaite. Send tips via email: alexanderg@mediaite.com. Follow him on Twitter: @alexgriffing