Vice President JD Vance stepped into one of the most politically charged daytime television environments in America on Tuesday, appearing on ABC’s The View for what was initially billed as a book interview but quickly turned into a wide-ranging and hostile attack on the Vice President and his political allies.

The appearance comes amid a broader media push by Vance, who has increasingly taken on television, podcast and cable interviews to defend and support the Trump administration.

The vice president has opted to consistently engage directly with outlets known for adversarial interviews with conservative officials. From the opening minutes, the tone was set with rapid-fire questioning on inflation and Trump’s economic crisis. “Inflation got up to 9% under the Biden administration. Right now it’s at 3.5% We’re doing everything we can to bring it back down,” the Vice President pointed out.

Vance also defended the White House when the topic of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was brought up. He emphasized President Donald Trump’s innocence at the center of the case, pointing to past actions. “Epstein hated Donald Trump,” Vance said. “Trump literally reported Jeffrey Epstein to the police.”

Immigration enforcement became another central flashpoint. Vance defended ICE operations and broader border policy. “Law enforcement is always inherently not a pretty process,” he said. “Especially when you deal sometimes with violent people, with people who are resisting arrest. Some of the people that I have been told by the media were completely peaceful, never violated any laws, you look into the record and find out they were violent or they did have a criminal record. They had a sex traffic conviction.” Similarly, when the hosts attempted to label the policies as anti-Christian, Vance fired back: “The Christian faith says that you can have borders. You’re allowed to enforce your borders. But you also have to take certain precautions and certain care.”

The exchange grew more hostile when hosts Whoopi Goldberg and Sunny Hostin accused Vance of leading an administration which was stigmatizing black people. The Vice President fought back, saying that the capital, Washington DC, has become a much safer place under the Trump administration.

“[DC], one of the most Democratic and one of the blackest cities in the United States of America has seen a radical decrease in violent crimes and sexual assaults and in murders… We celebrate black history. We celebrate all history in this administration. You guys may be skeptical of this, but I promise you it is true,” Vance said. The much-anticipated interview concluded with lighter moments surrounding family and writing, through which Vance maintained a measured and polite tone, despite attacks from the hosts.