‘That’s Crazy, Come On!’ ABC’s Jon Karl Calls Out a ‘Not Remotely True’ Trump Claim in Heated Battle With JD Vance

ABC’s Jon Karl pressed Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) — the Republican vice presidential nominee — on claims made at a recent rally by former President Donald Trump attacking Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN)

In a contentious interview Sunday on ABC’s This Week, Karl confronted Vance on numerous claims made by Trump during a rally in Montana Friday about the man chosed by Vice President Kamala Harris to fill out the Democratic ticket.

“[Trump] said that Tim Walz has signed a letter letting the state kidnap children, to change their gender,” Karl said. “Allowing pedophiles to be exempt from crimes. I mean, this is not true. It’s not remotely true!”

“What President Trump said, Jon, is that Tim Walz has supported taking children from their parents if the parents don’t consent to gender reassignment,” Vance replied. “That is crazy. And by the way, Tim Walz gets on his high horse about mind your own damn business. One way of minding your own damn business, Jon, is to not try to take my children away from me if I have different moral views than you.

“He has not signed a law allowing the state to kidnapping children to change their sexual identity,” Karl said.

“What I just explained to you, I would describe as kidnapping,” Vance said.

“That’s crazy, come on!” Karl said.

“He has absolutely done this stuff,” Vance said. He added “You should not you should not be able to take people’s children away from them if you disagree with decisions about gender reassignment.”

“That’s not what he’s proposed!” Karl said.

The executive order at the center of Vance’s claim, which was signed by Walz in early 2023, states that courts may have “temporary emergency jurisdiction” in custody disputes which cross state lines in cases where a child has been unable to obtain gender-affirming care. Per a Washington Post fact check, this law allows Minnesota courts to intervene in cases where parents disagree on whether their child should receive care. It does not take away custody from parents who decline gender-affirming care for their children.

In a tactic Vance adopted during another interview Sunday on CNN, Vance promptly pivoted to criticizing Karl for his line of questioning.

“Why aren’t we talking about inflation?” Vance said. “Why aren’t we talking about the fact that groceries are unaffordable thanks to Kamala Harris’s policies, and so is housing.”

“To be clear, I just asked you about something that Donald Trump brought up, not something the Harris campaign brought up,” Karl replied. “I was asking you about Donald Trump.”

“Fair,” Vance said. “Fair. But Jon, the Harris campaign, what are their policy views? They don’t have a policy position on their website. Should she sit down and answer tough questions with you?

“Yes,” Karl replied. “Absolutely.”

Watch above, via ABC.

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