The neoconservative anti-Trump web blog ‘The Bulwark’ recently lashed out at Ohio Senate candidate J.D. Vance, falsely claiming he was “cancelled” from a speaking event, before being humiliated into correcting their reporting by organizers.
The Bulwark’s article “J.D. Vance Gets Cancelled” delved into comments made by Mr. Vance concerning the Russia/Ukraine conflict. Senior Editor Jim Swift said Vance had made “stupid” comments such as: “I’ll be honest with you, I don’t really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another.”
Vance explained: “I do care about the fact that in my community right now the leading cause of death among 18-45 year-olds is Mexican fentanyl that’s coming across the Southern Border.” He elaborated by pointing out Joe Biden’s priorities seemed to be with Ukraine’s border, rather than America’s own, though The Bulwark described this as a “clumsy attempt” rather than citing Vance’s own words.
The Bulwark claimed that Vance’s “No BS Tour” would then skip a stop in Minnesota, baselessly implying he had been cancelled by the state’s GOP chapter allegedly in response to the aforementioned commentary. No such thing ever occurred, and while The Bulwark’s clickbait story remains online, it now carries a humiliating acknowledgement as an update:
The Republican Party of Minnesota’s Executive Director, Mike Longergan, said: “This story is looking for drama where there is none – unfortunately, J.D. Vance is no longer able to speak to our April 1 event due to a scheduling conflict. We look forward to hosting J.D. Vance when the schedule permits.” Longergan further debunked claims from Swift’s Bulwark article which stated that “The Minnesota GOP did not respond to a request for comment” claiming that no such request to the Minnesota GOP had been made from the outlet.
Swift – a former ‘Online Editor’ for the defunct neoconservative Weekly Standard magazine – also claimed Vance may be pro-Russia due to an investment in new video platform Rumble, a less censorious alternative to YouTube:
“Vance is also under fire for investing in the platform Rumble with his political sugar daddy, Peter Thiel. Rumble, if you’re not familiar, is YouTube for those who have been “canceled” by Big Tech. Mostly that means your garden-variety far-right, white-nationalist types. But Rumble is also the new home to RT, the Kremlin’s propaganda channel. Poor guy can’t catch a break.”
Rumble recently announced that left-wing documentarian Oliver Stone’s movie Ukraine on Fire would be hosted by the network after it too was turfed from YouTube, undermining Swift’s claims of the site servicing the needs of “garden variety” far-rightists and Russian state media alone.
The Bulwark is backed by the Defending Democracy Together Institute, which was founded by former Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol. Kristol’s efforts are in turn supported by billionaire leftist Pierre Omidyar.
