JD Vance’s conveniently timed meeting with Wall Street Journal owner Rupert Murdoch has people wondering if the vice president has turned on Donald Trump.
If you recall, on July 17, the Wall Street Journal published the contents of an alleged birthday card Donald Trump sent to the late Jeffrey Epstein back in 2003. While Trump has distanced himself from Epstein and his sordid trafficking actions over the years, which landed him in prison in 2019, the contents of the card — which was described as “bawdy” and featured a hand-drawn naked woman — seemed to suggest that both men had a much closer relationship with each other than Trump previously claimed.
Interestingly, the Daily Mail has reported that Vance actually met up with Murdoch, who owns the Wall Street Journal, roughly one month before their shocking report on Trump. According to the outlet, the subject matter that Vance discussed has yet to be revealed, further fueling the rumor he may have been secretly planning to somehow knock Trump off his feet. On X, formerly known as Twitter, for example, one user wrote, “JD Vance is plotting a coup against Trump.” A second user tweeted, “JD Vance scheming against Trump already.” Meanwhile, a third speculated about Trump’s failed bromance with Tesla CEO Elon Musk. “He was silent for too long when Musk rebelled,” they wrote. “This is a red flag.”
JD Vance defended Trump
Some internet users may think that JD Vance is secretly plotting against Donald Trump (just like they thought Trump was once icing JD out), but he’s still putting up a united front. Although the Trump family has many scandals they’d probably rather erase, Trump has been extra adamant that he wasn’t involved in any of Jeffrey Epstein’s illegal activities.
So has JD Vance, who rushed to the president’s aid after the story broke. Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, Vance wrote, “Forgive my language but this story is complete and utter bulls**t.” He continued, “The WSJ should be ashamed for publishing it. Where is this letter? Would you be shocked to learn they never showed it to us before publishing it? Does anyone honestly believe this sounds like Donald Trump?”
Of course, Trump, too, has rushed to his own defense, outright denying that he gave such a card to Jeffrey Epstein. “This is not me. This is a fake thing. It’s a fake Wall Street Journal story,” Trump said in a statement to the Wall Street Journal ahead of the article’s release. “I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women. It’s not my language. It’s not my words.” Trump also announced that he was going to take legal action against the publication if it didn’t walk back its claims. “I’m gonna sue The Wall Street Journal,” he said. According to Reuters, Trump has since sued The Wall Street Journal, Rupert Murdoch, and other entities connected to the publication for $10 billion.
