**JD Vance Dodges Question on Trump's Election Loss in NYT Interview**

In a recent interview with The New York Times, Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance consistently evaded questions about whether he believes former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election. Over the course of an hour-long session on "The Interview," hosted by Lulu Garcia-Navarro, Vance was asked five times to clarify his stance on the election outcome but continually redirected the conversation to other issues.

When Garcia-Navarro first inquired if Trump had lost the 2020 election, Vance deflected by arguing that both he and Trump had raised numerous concerns about the election while emphasizing his focus on future issues. "I think there's an obsession here with focusing on 2020. I'm much more worried about what happened after 2020," Vance said, mentioning issues like border control and rising grocery prices.

Pressed for a simple "yes or no" answer, Vance sidestepped by questioning the role of big technology companies in allegedly censoring the Hunter Biden laptop story, which he claimed cost Trump millions of votes. When Garcia-Navarro continued to press him, Vance countered with, "Did big technology companies censor a story that independent studies have suggested cost Trump millions of votes? I think that's the question."

Even when asked again, Vance remained firm in his avoidance. He accused Garcia-Navarro of "repeating a slogan rather than engaging with what I'm saying," further discussing his concerns about censorship and its impact on American voters. Vance linked these issues to broader concerns about democracy and governance in the United States.

Vance's responses echo his statements from a recent debate with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, where he similarly deflected questions about Trump's loss. The debate saw Walz labeling Vance's answer as a "damning nonanswer." Democrats have since criticized Vance, arguing that his refusal to admit Trump's loss could enable the former president's more controversial actions.

Reports from CNN's KFile indicated that in the weeks following the 2020 election, Vance had acknowledged Trump's loss and accepted Joe Biden's inauguration. However, Vance suggested in a recent clip that, had he been vice president at the time, he would have asked states to submit alternate electors, showing continued skepticism about the election's fairness due to alleged technology company censorship.

In the interview, Vance maintained that he would have voted against the certification of the 2020 election results because of these concerns. He assured that he supports a peaceful transfer of power but remained vague about the 2024 election results, stating that they would "respect the results" while ensuring every legal ballot is counted.

Comparing the reaction to the 2004 election, Vance noted that although some congressional Democrats objected at the time, then-Senator John Kerry had conceded to President George W. Bush promptly. By contrast, Trump has never formally conceded to Biden. Vance concluded by affirming the Republican National Committee's efforts to ensure election integrity, expressing confidence that Trump would become the next president.