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Vice President JD Vance has addressed concerns about corruption within the White House – just days after US Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle resigned following allegations she pressured a MAGA donor to pay her six-figure credit card bill in exchange for influence over the Trump administration.
During a tough CBS News town hall Saturday night, Vance addressed allegations of corruption and criticism that President Donald Trump and his family profited from office during his second term.
CBS Evening News anchor Tony Dokoupil noted at the event that corruption was high on voters’ list of concerns, above even the price of gasoline. Dokoupil said a recent poll “found that even half of Republicans believe Donald Trump’s personal business interests affect his decisions as president.”
“Have you seen anything inside the White House, when it comes to corruption, that disgusts you?” Dokoupil asked the vice president.
“You’re asking if Donald Trump’s decision-making was influenced by his business interests -” Vance began to ask before Dokoupil interjected.
“No, I’m asking you if you saw anyone inside the White House,” Dokoupil said.
“I have never seen anything like this from the president,” Vance said, saying he had personally investigated corruption within the administration.
“No, Tony, I just don’t. I think there are a lot of allegations and there are a lot of things where, frankly, I read these articles, and I read the cursory summary, and I say, oh, that doesn’t sound good,” Vance said.
“And then I’ll do the investigation myself, and I say, wait a second, what they say the president did or what they say the president’s son did, he didn’t actually do,” he added.
Vance then accused Dokoupil of saying that Trump sanctioned at least such behavior, to which Dokoupil responded, “The voters say that.”
“Donald Trump hates it when people make money off of him. He hates the idea of someone coming in and saying, I’m going to give you a meeting with the president and I’m going to get rich because I gave you access to the president. The president would never tolerate that behavior, Tony,” Vance said.
His comments come days after a bombshell report claimed Guilfoyle asked MAGA donor, Kentucky lawyer and former congressional candidate Eric Deters to pay his $100,000 American Express bill in exchange for influence in the Trump administration. The Wall Street Journal reported.
Guilfoyle, a former Fox News host who was once engaged to Donald Trump Jr., resigned as ambassador on Tuesday after he encouraged her to leave the White House.
His lawyers challenged the authenticity of the text messages Deters shared with the media. Deters also told CNN that he did not give Guilfoyle the money.
Deters filed a defamation lawsuit against Guilfoyle and his legal team in Kentucky state court on Thursday.
“Kim Guilfoyle and her attorneys have asserted that my allegations are false and that they will vigorously defend them,” Deters wrote in a statement accompanying the lawsuit. “Now they can in Kentucky.”
Guilfoyle has not commented on the lawsuit or his resignation beyond a social media post after it was announced he had been asked to resign.
In her resignation Tuesday, Guilfoyle thanked Trump for the opportunity to serve and pledged to “vigorously” fight the “false” allegations against her.
“Serving as the United States Ambassador to Greece has been the honor of her life,” she wrote on social media. “From my first day as ambassador, I have worked tirelessly to advance President Trump’s America First agenda, strengthen our strategic alliance with Greece, and achieve meaningful victories for the American people. »
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