CNN’s Kaitlan Collins spars with Trump VP contender JD Vance

Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) and CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins clashed Wednesday over the ongoing college protests, the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, and former President Trump’s legal cases, as speculation rises over Vance becoming Trump’s potential running mate in November.

Vance denounced mass pro-Palestine protests on college campuses across the nation, endorsing the New York Police Department’s action Tuesday to break up demonstrations at Columbia University. Police moved in after a group of protesters occupied a campus building, and the Ohio Republican said those demonstrators deserve criminal prosecution.

“You can’t police people for being pro-Israel or anti-Israel, but you can police people for violating the law,” Vance said Wednesday on CNN’s “The Source with Kaitlan Collins.” “We have seen some of that with some of these protests.”

Collins questioned the first-term senator over his logic, pointing out an apparent double standard with how he reacted to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

“I’m just checking because you did help raise money for people who did so on Jan. 6th,” she pressed.

Vance has repeatedly defended those who participated in the insurrection and backed their goals, saying in February that if he was the vice president, he would not have certified the 2020 election results.

In further discussions about Jan. 6, the senator said he was “skeptical” Vice President Mike Pence’s life was ever in danger during the riots, despite chants from the crowd to have him hanged and gallows erected near the Capitol.

“I’m truly skeptical that Mike Pence’s life was ever in danger,” Vance said in the interview. “I think politics and politics people like to really exaggerate things from time to time.”

Collins interjected, saying she thinks “Mike Pence would disagree.”

Vance also addressed Trump’s immunity case in the Supreme Court, in which the former president’s attorneys claim that he cannot be prosecuted for “official acts” while he was still in the White House, adding that impeachment is also a prerequisite for punishment. While the former president was impeached for his alleged efforts to remain in power, the Senate did not vote to remove him from office.

Under harsh questioning from liberal justices, Trump’s attorneys said that having a political rival assassinated could be considered an official act. Vance seemingly agreed.

“You’re basically saying that if the president orders a military coup, you believe the only remediation for that is impeachment?” Collins questioned. 

Vance brushed off the question, saying the host was merely “dealing with hypotheticals.”

Speculation has risen in recent weeks over Trump’s potential running mates, and Vance is a common name. He told Collins that he has not been in touch with Trump’s campaign about a potential place on the 2024 ticket.