US polls 2024: Donald Trump ‘peacefully’ gave up power in 2020 – JD Vance downplays January 6 Capitol riots on air

US presidential Polls 2024: In the recent Vice Presidential debate for the 2024 US Presidential election, Democrat Tim Walz and Republican JD Vance generated significant headlines with their exchanges. Vance notably sparked controversy by outright dismissing the January 6 Capitol riots, claiming that former President Donald Trump “peacefully gave up power.”

During the debate, hosted by CBS News, Walz directly asked Vance if he believed Trump lost the 2020 election. Vance's response was defiant, “It is really rich for Democrats to say that Donald Trump is a unique threat to democracy when he peacefully gave up power on January 20, as was done for 250 years in this country.” He proceeded to reference past Democratic protests against U.S. elections, stating, “Hillary Clinton had said that Donald Trump had the election stolen with the help of Russian President Vladimir Putin because the Russians had bought $500,000 of Facebook ads.”

Vance continued, “If we wanna say that we need to respect the results, then I am onboard. But if we are to say, as Tim Walz is saying, that this is just a problem the Republicans have had, then I don’t buy that.”

When Walz pressed Vance on whether Trump lost the 2020 election, Vance sidestepped the question, asking, “I am focused on the future. Did Kamala Harris censor Americans from speaking their minds on the 2020 Covid situation?”

“That is a non-answer,” Walz replied, emphasizing the need for clarity.

Vance added, “Obviously Donald Trump and I think there were problems in 2020. We have talked about it. I am happy to talk about it further,” yet he never directly addressed Walz's inquiry.

January 6 Capitol Attack: A Recap

On January 6, 2021, the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC, became the target of an attack by a mob of supporters of then-President Donald Trump. This unprecedented assault was part of an attempted self-coup just two months after Trump lost the 2020 presidential election.

'All of us here today do not want to see our election victory stolen by emboldened radical-left Democrats, which is what they’re doing", Donald Trump had spoken at a rally near the White House on January 6 before a mob of his supporters stormed the US Capitol to try to stop Congress from certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.

One particular statement by Donald Trump, that Democrats agree provoked the mob was, "We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore".

According to the bipartisan House select committee that investigated the incident, the attack was the culmination of a seven-part plan by Trump to overturn the election.

Within 36 hours, five people died: one was shot by Capitol Police, another died of a drug overdose, and three died of natural causes, including a police officer. Many people were injured, including 174 police officers. Four officers who responded to the attack killed themselves within seven months.