ABC News host George Stephanopoulos abruptly ended his interview with Vice President JD Vance on Sunday morning after Vance successfully avoided answering a straightforward yes-or-no question for the better part of the segment.
The interview, which focused on bribery allegations against Border Czar Tom Homan, concluded when Stephanopoulos interrupted Vance mid-sentence to announce the network would be cutting to commercial, sparing millions of Americans from what analysts predicted would have been at least seven more minutes of the Vice President not answering the question.
When asked whether Homan accepted $50,000 in cash as heard on an audio tape recorded by the FBI in September 2024, Vance instead lectured Stephanopoulos about why fewer people watch his program, a media criticism strategy that communications experts describe as "technically not an answer to the question that was asked."
"I think the American people would benefit much more from talking about the shutdown than from you going down some weird left-wing rabbit hole," Vance explained, successfully transforming a question about whether his colleague kept a bag of cash into a broader philosophical discussion about journalistic priorities that absolutely nobody requested.
The Vice President appeared visibly committed to his innovative interview technique of responding to inquiries about specific facts with generalized complaints about media credibility, a tactic he has honed to perfection since assuming office. When Stephanopoulos noted they had been discussing the Homan story for five minutes, Vance accused him of spending five minutes on the Homan story, demonstrating the kind of self-awareness that has become a hallmark of the administration.
The allegations stem from an undercover FBI sting in which bureau agents posing as businesspeople allegedly handed Homan a bag containing $50,000 in cash after he allegedly agreed to help them secure government contracts if Trump won the election. The White House has maintained that Homan did not take the funds, though when pressed on whether Homan kept or returned the money, Vance opted for the time-tested approach of criticizing the person asking the question instead.
As Stephanopoulos thanked Vance for his time, the Vice President attempted to interject with "No, George, I said..." before being cut off, leaving Americans to wonder what critical non-answer he was about to not provide.
Sources close to the Vice President confirmed he spent the remainder of Sunday morning practicing his response to future questions about whether the sky is blue, which reportedly consists of a four-minute explanation about why the media is obsessed with colors when Americans care more about the economy.
At press time, Vance was scheduling additional interviews where he plans to not answer questions about other topics.
