Former Clinton operative George Stephanopoulos was typically aggressive during his Sunday interview on “This Week” with Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH). The Ohio Republican was asked about Supreme Court rulings and whether it would be vigorous for our country for presidents to defy the Supreme Court. Vance also said that Trump should fire disobedient government workers – all of which was based on something Vance said during a 2021 podcast:
I think what Trump should do, like if I gave him one piece of advice, is to fire every mid-level bureaucrat, every government official in the administrative state and replace them with our people. And when the courts – because you will be put on trial – and when the courts arrest you, you stand before the country, as Andrew Jackson did, and say that the chief justice has made his ruling, now let him enforce it…
Stephanopoulos was horrified by the shooting of government workers and then allegedly defying the Supreme Court, but that wasn’t what Vance was talking about. The senator recalled how the defense bureaucracy forced Trump to abandon his plan to send troops to Jordan and Syria after he bombed ISIS in the Stone Age. These forces are now in the firing range against attacks by Iran-backed militias. Vance’s point was basic: people were dying because of bad policies dictated by unelected bureaucrats who opposed the power of the people to whom they were subservient.
“It is a fundamental element of our government, George, that whoever is in power, whether you agree with it or not, must follow the rules. If these people are not following the rules, then of course they need to be fired,” Vance added.
But when the discussion turned into a peaceful academic discussion about the Supreme Court’s cruel rulings, Stephanopoulos cut off Vance’s microphone (via Fox News) [emphasis mine]: :
Explosive moment: ABC’s furious George Stephanopoulos reaches breaking point with Republican JD Vance and suddenly cuts off his microphone! TO WATCHpic.twitter.com/VPEuDWDOLD
— Szymon Ateba (@simonstheba) February 5, 2024
Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio was shut down on Sunday by ABC News “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos after he suggested that former President Trump might defy “illegal” Supreme Court rulings.
“The Constitution says the Supreme Court can issue rulings, but if the Supreme Court – and look, I hope they won’t do that – but if the Supreme Court found that the president of the United States could not fire a general, that would be an unlawful ruling, and the president would have to have the power under Art. 2 of the Constitution, the military has the prerogative to actually run the government as it pleasesVance said.
“This is simply basic constitutional legitimacy. You’re talking about a hypothetical situation where the Supreme Court is trying to run the military. I don’t think that will happen, George. But of course, if that happened, the president would have to respond. There are many examples in American history of a president doing just that.”
Stephanopoulos asked whether the president must follow the Supreme Court’s lawful rulings, and when Vance responded, an ABC News representative said, “You’ve made it clear that you believe the president can defy the Supreme Court.”
I’m not always the biggest @JDVance1 fan, but what? @GStephanopoulos what he did to him was absolutely the worst partisan idiot I have ever seen in the history of Sunday shows. George runs ABC politics like a little Democrat dictator and it shows. Shameful.
— Ben Domenech (@bdomenech) February 5, 2024
Oh come on, George. Even Ben Domenech, a conservative commentator who is not a fan of Vance, was outraged by the interview, saying: “George runs ABC’s political coverage like a little Democrat dictator, and it shows. Shame”.
Vance’s proposed scenario is a perfect example of an illegal ruling. We can no longer hope that the rule of law and constitutional order will be maintained on their own – Democrats have moved quickly to destroy this principle during Trump’s presidency. The Supreme Court told Biden he can’t forgive student loan debt. And so he did it. Obama arguably violated the separation of powers with the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals executive order. The White House bypassed Congress by passing a novel immigration law. Republicans tried to repeal an executive order that blocked the courts. It’s bad. The EO can be rescinded, as Biden often did with Trump’s border security initiatives.
Sorry, given that the Justice Department is targeting pro-life activists, a former president, former employees and associates, and anyone Democrats consider enemies, there is no limit to the scandal and mayhem that the administrative state and the courts can wreak.
When Democrats don’t win, they attack institutions. On legal issues, they argue that the courts are illegitimate because they have Republican Party nominees with them when they issue an “L” ruling. Worse still, they are considering filling the Supreme Court with woke leftists. The actions Democrats have proposed on these issues are far more damaging than anything Vance said on Sunday. Just wait for the courts to rule on the issue of presidential immunity in Trump’s lawsuits over alleged federal election interference and mishandling of secret documents. If Trump’s legal team wins, listen to the leftist arguments for unfair justice.
