PoliticsJ.D. Vance Raises Eyebrows With Bizarre Defense of Kimberly Guilfoyle and Richard Grenell Amid Controversy: 'See What the Facts Actually Are'
Vance urged not to rush to judgment against Kimberly Guilfoyle and Richard Grenell.
Oct. 21 2026, Updated 6:01 p.m. ET
Vice President J.D. Vance had a curious defense of disgraced ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle as he touted how much the Trump administration hated fraud and "pay to play" politics.
Speaking to reporters on October 20, Vance insisted that there is "no person who hates the idea of people enriching themselves fraudulently over access to the government than Donald J. Trump," but cautioned against rushing to judge Guilfoyle and others who have been caught trying to enrich themselves selling access to the government.
Vance Says Don't Rush to Judgment Over Guilfoyle and Grenell
Vance said he wouldn't 'attack somebody based on an anonymously sourced story.'
Guilfoyle was unceremoniously let go from her position as ambassador over a scandal in which she allegedly demanded $100,000 from a MAGA donor. Furthermore, Trump ally Richard Grenell, former leader of the Kennedy Center, is accused of failing to deposit millions in donations to the center.
Vance insisted that we shouldn't rush to judgment in their cases.
“What I’d say is that we want to fight fraud wherever we see it," he said. "What we’re not going to do is go and attack somebody based on an anonymously sourced story. And in some of those cases, you have to let the facts play out and see what the facts actually are."
Grenell and Guilfoyle Accused of Clear 'Pay-to-Play' Schemes
Kim Guilfoyle is accused of demanding $100,000 from a MAGA donor.
Guilfoyle was forced to resign last week after texts showing her demanding $100,000 from donor Eric Deters in exchange for access to President Trump. She denied the allegations, but Trump is furious with her, to the point where he pretended he barely remembered Guilfoyle dating and being engaged to his son Donald Trump Jr.
Richard is accused of promising donors access to Trump in exchange for their donation.
“Once the money comes to the company here, I will arrange the donation to Kennedy Centre [sic], and you’ll be joining the VIP events and get close with the administration, even with POTUS,” he allegedly told the donors.
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Vance Focuses on Petty Fraud
Richard Grenell allegedly pocketed a donation he said would get the donors access to POTUS.
The VP seemed more aggressive when discussing petty fraud of government programs compared to fraud with massive sums of money attached to it playing out in Washington.
This includes fraud of programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), where J.D. and Attorney General Todd Blanche say they've discovered $42 million worth of fraud.
On October 20, Donald and J.D. unveiled a $25 million whistleblower initiative that encourages Americans to report cases of suspected fraud to the federal government.
Trump Convicted of Fraud
Donald Trump has an extensive history of being charged with fraud.
The president himself has been found guilty of extensive fraud charges.
In 2023, he was found liable for civil fraud by lying about his net worth to secure bank loans. In 2024, he was found guilty of falsifying business records to cover up his hush money payments to Stormy Daniels.
J.D. still talked tough about fraud in his press conference, saying, “We reject anybody getting enriched off of their connections to the government. And if we see it happening, whether it’s our partisan friends or our partisan enemies, we are going to do something about it.”
