Something has been bugging me about the Vance-Walz debate. JD Vance won that confrontation easily, but during an exchange about the 2020 election, Tim Walz asked Vance, “Did he [Trump] lose the 2020 election?” Vance missed an opportunity with that question.

“Tim, I'm focused on the future,” Vance replied. “Did Kamala Harris censor Americans from speaking their mind in the wake of the 2020 COVID situation?”

WALZ: Did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?

VANCE: Tim, I'm focused on the future

WALZ: That's a damning non-answer pic.twitter.com/D6tVg8HOFC

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 2, 2024

There was a better answer. 

George Stephanopoulos asked House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) a similar question about the 2020 election during a recent appearance on ABC’s “This Week."

“Can you say, unequivocally, that Joe Biden won the 2020 election?” Stephanopoulos asked.

STEPHANOPOULOS: Can you say unequivocally that Joe Biden won the 2020 election and Trump lost?

MIKE JOHNSON: See, this is the game that is always played by mainstream media with mainstream Republicans. It's a gotcha game.

STEPHANOPOULOS: So like Vance, you can't say… pic.twitter.com/0vFnZHi4a3

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 6, 2024

Again, there was a better answer. 

Both men should have used the opportunity to point out the hypocrisy of the question because there are countless Democrats who have claimed, and still claim without evidence, that Russia stole the 2016 for Donald Trump. There was never any evidence of Trump colluding with Russia — had there been any evidence of collusion, the investigations by Special Counsel Robert Mueller, Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz, and Special Counsel John Durham most certainly would have found it, yet none of them did. Nor was there any evidence of changed votes. Democrats created the lie because they simply couldn't process the idea that Trump had won the election.

Why haven’t Republicans learned that they can easily flip the script on this issue?

Vance, as great as he was in that debate, should have told Walz, “Perhaps you should ask your running mate, Kamala Harris, whether she still thinks that Donald Trump is an illegitimate president."

Because that’s what she said.

FLASHBACK: When @KamalaHarris said @realDonaldTrump was an illegitimate president and Russia stole the 2016 election.

No one ever asks her about that. pic.twitter.com/RgBqo2ZomZ

— Matt Margolis (@mattmargolis) October 9, 2024

Johnson could easily have done the same thing; he could have asked Stephanopoulos whether he’s ever asked the same question of the countless Democrats who still insist that Trump stole the 2016 election from Hillary Clinton. Adam Schiff infamously claimed he personally saw the evidence, which, of course, was a lie. Clinton still claims that Trump “stole” the 2016 election from her. 

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also believes that Trump stole the 2016 election from Hillary, as does Nancy Pelosi. Even Joe Biden agreed with a supporter of his who told him she thought Trump was an illegitimate president. Biden also believes that Al Gore won the 2000 presidential election. 

At a fundraiser for Massachusetts Senate candidate Ed Markey in 2013, then-Vice President Biden praised Al Gore, who was in attendance, and declared that Gore was the rightful winner of the 2000 election. 

"This man was elected president of the United States of America," Biden reportedly said. 

“But, for the good of the nation, when the bad decision, in my view, was made, he did the right thing for the nation,” Biden said of the Supreme Court ruling halting the endless recounts.

Vance and Johnson missed crucial opportunities to highlight the double standard Democrats have long employed. For years, Democrats have questioned the legitimacy of elections they’ve lost, yet Republicans aren’t even allowed to raise valid concerns about an election that had obvious issues.

This was also a perfect chance to highlight how questioning the 2020 election results became grounds for censorship and demonetization by Big Tech, effectively stripping Americans of their First Amendment rights. Why is it acceptable for Democrats to claim that Russia stole the 2016 election or that George W. Bush stole the 2000 election, but anyone who dares question the fairness of the 2020 election is silenced? The hypocrisy couldn’t be more obvious.

If they flip the script, it gives them the perfect chance to reframe the 2020 election debate. They could say, “Both Democrats and Republicans have questioned election outcomes when their side lost. That’s why we need commonsense election integrity reforms, so everyone — regardless of party — can trust the results, no matter who wins.”

That's how you win the exchange, and I don't understand why Republicans haven't figured this out yet.

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