Vance consistently declines to express his views on whether Trump lost the 2020 election.
"So, you think Trump lost the 2020 election?" enquired Lulu Garcia-Navarro, the host of "The Interview".
"Well, Trump and I have both had concerns about the 2020 election, but we're more focused on the future," responded Vance. "I believe there's an excessive fixation on 2020. What genuinely worries me is what happened post-2020, like the border being wide open, skyrocketing food prices, and so on..."
"Vance, come on, did Trump lose the 2020 election?" pressed Garcia-Navarro.
"Allow me to ask a question. Is it acceptable for major tech companies to censor the Hunter Biden laptop story, which independent analysts claim cost Trump millions of votes?" Vance countered.
"Vance, I'm asking you again," Garcia-Navarro persisted. "Did Trump lose the 2020 election?"
"Do you think major tech companies suppressed a story that independent studies suggest cost Trump millions of votes? I believe that's the real question," Vance replied.
Again questioned, Vance said, "If you answer my question, I'll answer yours."
Presured yet again, Vance claimed Garcia-Navarro was "repeating a slogan rather than engaging with what I'm saying."
"When our own tech giants engage in massive scale censorship, with the government's backing, and according to independent studies, that played a role in the vote count, I'm concerned about Americans who believe there were issues in 2020. I'm not worried about the catchphrase 'Every court case went this way.' I'm talking about a specific issue: The censorship in this country that some believe influenced the vote in 2020, and had even more significant consequences, leading to Kamala Harris's governance," Vance said.
Similar to his response during a debate with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz last week, where Vance avoided answering whether Trump lost the last election, a topic Walz criticized as a "damning non-answer", Vance evaded the question again.
According to CNN's KFile, in the weeks following the 2020 election, Vance admitted to believing that Trump had lost and accepted that Biden would be inaugurated.
However, in a clip released on Friday, Vance held fast to his position of challenging the states to send alternate electors if he had been Trump's vice president in 2020.
"I have said that I would've voted against certification, due to the same concerns I raised earlier," Vance stated, alleging tech companies were "censoring Americans on a massive scale."
Asked if he would support the election results and pledge to a peaceful transfer of power, Vance replied, "Of course, we commit to a peaceful transfer of power."
When asked about the 2024 election results, Vance was evasive but assured they would "respect the results."
"But if there are issues, just like Democrats protested in 2004 and Trump raised concerns in 2020, we will make sure this election is fair. That every legal vote is counted. We've filed nearly a hundred lawsuits at the RNC to ensure that every legal vote is counted," he said.
While a few congressional Democrats objected to the 2004 results, unlike Trump, then-Democratic Sen. John Kerry conceded the race to President George W. Bush the morning after Election Night, as it became clear that Ohio, the deciding state, would favor the incumbent. Unlike Trump, Kerry never formally conceded to Biden.
Regarding the RNC's efforts, Vance told Garcia-Navarro, "You may criticize that, but we view it as an essential effort to preserve election integrity. Of course, we will respect the results in 2024, and I am confident that Donald Trump will be the next president."
"Vance, it's clear you've had concerns about the role of tech companies in the 2020 election," Garcia-Navarro noted.
"Indeed, the issue of election integrity and the potential impact of censorship on the vote count is quite significant in politics," Vance replied.
