Before becoming vice presidential candidate, JD Vance said that Trump’s sexual assault accuser was telling the truth

Until a few years ago, JD Vance watched Donald Trump like someone who hasn’t been brainwashed by the MAGA movement, which is to say: He knows Trump is a dangerous individual who absolutely should not hold power in this country. But fast forward to 2021, and the Ohio senator is suddenly praising a man he once likened to Adolf Hitler. And now, if you ask him about his past comments, he’ll say things like “I just think the results [of Trump’s presidency] very good…. I criticized Trump in 2016, but he proved me wrong.”

But it’s important to remember exactly what Vance has said about the man he’s trying so hard to re-elect. Take, for example, his thoughts on Trump’s sexual assault allegations: In February, after the former president was found guilty of libel against the writer E. Jean Carroll Last month, Vance declared the verdict BS. But in 2016, when he was asked about an accusation from Jessica Leeds, The person who said Trump groped her, he has a very different view.

According to Mediaite:

In comments that have remained undisclosed until now, Vance went so far as to signal on MSNBC that he believed Jessica Leeds’ story…. Leeds has come forward along with several other women who have claimed they were sexually assaulted by Trump. She testified in the E. Jean Carroll civil trial in which Trump was convicted of sexual assault. Her testimony was denied by Trump and his publicists during the 2016 race, but Vance argued in an October 2016 appearance on Hard ball with Chris Matthews that he was inclined to believe Leeds’ claim.

According to the show’s transcript, after being asked what he thought of Leeds’ allegations, Vance replied, “This is a he said, she said thing, right? And finally, do you believe Donald Trump, who always tells the truth? Just kidding. Or do you believe the woman on the tape?”

To that end, CNN’s KFile reported last month that after Access Hollywood After the tape was released, Vance liked a tweet that read, “Perhaps the Central Park 5 could take out a full-page ad denouncing the coddling of thuggish real estate moguls who commit serial sex crimes.” (Trump famously took out an ad calling for the death penalty after the 1989 rape of a jogger in Central Park; although he never directly named the group of young men known as the Central Park Five, who were later exonerated, many believed he was clearly referring to them.)

In addition to his comments regarding Trump and sexual assault, Vance has also said of the former president:

Vance also previously liked a tweet featuring a photo of Trump and OJ Simpson, writing, “Here’s an old photo of one of America’s most hateful, evil, and stupid celebrities. Also in the photo: OJ Simpson.”

But now? Can’t say enough good things about this guy.