George Stephanopoulos and J.D. Vance went toe-to-toe on air in a tense clash regarding White House border czar Tom Homan and his alleged bribery scandal. The “This Week” anchor spoke to the vice president on the show over the weekend and asked him about the recent allegations that Tom had accepted a $50,000 bribe in exchange for assistance with receiving government contracts under the Trump administration. Tom is responsible for “the Southern Border, the Northern Border, all Maritime, and Aviation Security” as well as “all Deportation of Illegal Aliens back to their Country of Origin,” as Donald wrote on Truth Social.
George brought up the bribery scandal with J.D., asking him if Tom had given back the $50,000 cash he had been recorded accepting. “I don’t know what you’re referring to, George,” he replied, before accusing the TV personality of spreading “a fake scandal”.
“And here’s, George, why fewer and fewer people watch your program, and why you’re losing credibility,” he continued. “Because you’re talking for now five minutes with the vice president of the United States about this story regarding Tom Homan, a story that I’ve read about, but I don’t even know the video that you’re talking about.”
“Meanwhile, low-income women can’t get food because the Democrats and Chuck Schumer have shut down the government.” The government has entered its third week of shutdown after Republicans and Democrats could not agree on a funding bill. J.D. then slammed the media for “going after” Tom.
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“You’re focused on a bogus story, you’re insinuating criminal wrongdoing against a guy who has done nothing wrong, instead of focusing on the fact that our country is struggling because our government shut down,” he added.
“He did not take a bribe. Did he accept $50,000? I’m sure that in the course of Tom Homan’s life, he has been paid more than $50,000 for services. The question is, did he do something illegal? And there’s absolutely no evidence that Tom Homan has ever taken a bribe.”
© ABCGeorge cut J.D. off and threw to a commercial
The 41-year-old went on to accuse George of “going down some weird left-wing rabbit hole”, which prompted a swift response from the journalist. “It’s not a weird left-wing rabbit hole. I didn’t insinuate anything. I asked you whether Tom Homan accepted $50,000, as was heard on an audiotape recorded by the FBI in September 2024, and you did not answer the question.” He then cut the vice president off and threw to a commercial. “Thank you for your time this morning.”
© Alex WongJ.D. accused George of “going down some weird left-wing rabbit hole”
J.D. took to X later that day to share his frustration over the interview, writing, “Peace in the Middle East? China threatening critical supply chains? Government shutdown? George S doesn’t care about that. He’s here to focus on the real story: a fake scandal involving Tom Homan.”
© Getty ImagesHe took to X after the interview to share his frustrations
For his part, Tom has denied any wrongdoing as per NewsNation, “I did nothing criminal. I did nothing illegal.” The allegations were first reported by The New York Times, with the incident allegedly occurring in 2024 during former President Joe Biden’s term.