Vice President JD Vance was put on the spot by a college student who questioned President Donald Trump’s political ethics.
Vance and slain right-wing activist Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika visited the University of Mississippi on Wednesday for a Turning Point USA event, with the VP saying he was open to questions.
“Please don’t be nervous if you need to work through a question, think through it, speak it,” Vance told the students. “We’re all here to have a nice conversation, and we’re all supportive of it.”
Vance was asked if it was a “conflict of interest” for the president to accept millions from Israeli-American businesswoman Miriam Adelson and then promote pro-Israel policies.
“Well, if you’re asking, do I think the president of the United States has a conflict of interest? No, I do not,” Vance said.
“Because I know how the president of the United States makes his decisions and I see it behind the scenes.”
Vance said he personally has “a very good relationship” with Adelson, who is the widow of billionaire casino boss Sheldon Adelson.
The billionaire donated more than $100 million to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, which she also made an appearance on. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Trump in November 2018 for her humanitarian work.
“She doesn’t hide the fact that she really loves Israel, and that is part of what motivates her political giving,” Vance said of Adelson. “That is a reality. At the same time, the president the United States is America First through and through.”
The vice president said some “pro-Israel” voices had told the government they wanted them to cease discussions “with certain Middle Eastern countries.”
“The president’s attitude is we need to build relationships with any country where we have shared interests,” Vance said. “And he’s going to do it if it’s in the interests of the American people and he’s done exactly that.”
Trump said on Wednesday the U.S.-backed ceasefire in Gaza remains, despite Israeli strikes killing over 100 people, claiming Israel was hitting back after Hamas allegedly made a fatal strike in Rafah.
“As I understand it, they took out an Israeli soldier,” Trump said. “So the Israelis hit back and they should hit back. When that happens, they should hit back.”
During the Turning Point event, Vance was also asked about his Hindu wife, Usha and their “inter–cultural, racial, religious household” in the face of the Trump administration’s strict immigration policies.
One student asked a long-winded question to Vance that began, “When you talk about too many immigrants here, when did you guys decide that number? Why did you sell us a dream? You made us spend our youth, our wealth in this country, and gave us a dream.”
She continued, “Then how can you as a vice president stand there and say that ‘We have too many of them now, and we are going to take them out’ to people who are here rightfully… paying the money that you guys asked us? You gave us the path, now how can you stop it and tell us we don’t belong here anymore?”
While Vance shirked a direct answer, he said he believed the U.S. should lower its levels of immigration in the future, but also respected the immigrants who have contributed to America.
“But just because one person or 10 people or 100 people came in illegally and contributed to the United States of America, does that mean that we are thereby committed to let in a million or 10 million or 100 million people a year in the future? No, that’s not right,” Vance said.
“We cannot have an immigration policy where what was good for the country 50 or 60 years ago binds the country inevitably for the future.”
The post Vance Cornered by Student on Trump’s Conflict of Interest appeared first on The Daily Beast.
