JD Vance talks Trump-Musk clash, Hendrickson's Bengals contract with Theo Von
Speaking on a June 7 episode of Von's podcast, "This Past Weekend," filmed two days earlier at Kid Rock's newest restaurant in Nashville, Von covered a lot of political ground with the Middletown, Ohio, native.
The duo caught up from their last conversation seven months ago in October, when Vance was still a U.S. Senator from Ohio running on the Republican ticket alongside Trump.
Vance was in Nashville as the featured guest of a Republican National Committee fundraiser, according to USA TODAY Network paper The Tennessean.
Von, a stand-up comedian, actor and podcaster from Covington, Louisiana, has regularly featured guests of all kinds on his podcast, including Trump, Morgan Wallen, Mark Zuckerberg, Ben Affleck and others.
Here's the highlights from Vance's latest conversation with Von.
Joining the ranks of Trump allies out on Sunday shows and in media interviews to advocate for the administration's tax and policy bill, Vance and Von's conversation centered around the more than 1,000-page "big beautiful bill" going through Congress.
It didn't take long for Von to address the elephant in the room: the break-up between Trump and Musk. Vance spoke with Von just hours after relations between Trump and Musk, once a close confidant in the White House, crumbled amid a social media firestorm June 5.
Musk has been a vocal opponent of the bill, describing it as a "disgusting abomination."
Vance, who told Von he had watched the brawl unfold as he was on the plane to Nashville, took time to defend the bill, while also praising Musk for the work he's done in the White House with cutting government spending.
"I'm always going to be loyal to the president and I hope that eventually Elon kind of comes back into the fold," Vance said. "Maybe that's not possible now because he's gone so nuclear, but I hope it is."
After saying he had not yet seen Musk's accusation claiming Trump is a part of unreleased Jeffrey Epstein files, Vance reacted live to Musk's post with a strong denial.
"First of all, absolutely not. Donald Trump didn't do anything wrong with Jeffrey Epstein," Vance said of Epstein, a financier and sex offender whose exploitation of teenage girls and death in a federal prison has given political ammunition to both parties.
Vance said the president is frustrated with the criticisms coming from Musk about the spending bill, but Trump doesn't think he needs to be in a "blood feud" with Musk.
Von pulled up a viral tweet from U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-KY, criticizing how members of Congress had to vote on the "big beautiful bill" without having enough time to read through its hundreds of pages.
Massie's concern with lawmakers voting on the bill without full knowledge of its contents has been echoed by other Republicans nationwide, including U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in Georgia.
Vance, prefacing his rebuttal by saying Massie and him "get along," said the House of Representatives has another opportunity to review the bill after it goes through the Senate. And, Vance said, Massie and other Republicans have had weeks to review the bill while it was being written.
"The idea that people haven't had an opportunity to actually read it is ridiculous," Vance said. "They're in fact going to have to vote on it again before it even becomes law."
Closing out the interview with Von, Vance shared his thoughts about the ongoing contract negotiations with Cincinnati Bengals' defensive end Trey Hendrickson.
Hendrickson, who led the NFL in sacks last season with 17.5, wants more money from the Bengals and a contract extension.
Vance said the Bengals paying Hendrickson what he wants is worth the money and a factor in leading the team to a championship this season.
"Trey, if you're watching this show: If you're a Republican, I will show up to a Bengals game and take a photo with you if you sign on with the Bengals," Vance joked. "And if you're a Democrat, I'll stay the hell away. Just sign with the Bengals, because we've got a chance, man."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: JD Vance talks Trump-Musk feud, Trey Hendrickson in Theo Von podcast
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