Stephanopoulos Cuts Off Vance Mid-Sentence, Ends Interview

Tense exchange follows questions about FBI sting and alleged $50K bribe
Posted Oct 13, 2025 1:00 AM CDT
Stephanopoulos Cuts Off Vance Mid-Sentence, Ends Interview
Secretary of State Marco Rubio whispers to Vice President JD Vance as President Donald Trump and Finland's President Alexander Stubb meet in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025, in Washington.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

A heated exchange on live television ended abruptly when ABC's George Stephanopoulos cut off Vice President JD Vance mid-sentence, halting their clash over the bribery allegations swirling around Trump's border czar, the Daily Beast reports. During the interview on This Week Sunday morning, Stephanopoulos asked whether Tom Homan accepted a $50,000 bribe. Vance dismissed the line of questioning, calling it "some weird left-wing rabbit hole," arguing that discussions should focus on the government shutdown instead. Stephanopoulos countered that he was simply seeking an answer to a direct question, then ended the segment as Vance tried to respond.

"It's not a weird left-wing rabbit hole," Stephanopoulos said. "I didn't insinuate anything, I asked you whether Tom Homan accepted $50,000 as was heard on an audio tape recorded by the FBI in September 2024, and you did not answer the question. Thank you for your time this morning." As Vance started to reply, "No, George, I said..." Stephanopoulos told viewers the show would be right back, and it cut to commercial.

The friction comes amid heightened scrutiny of Homan, who was reportedly the subject of a 2024 FBI sting. Agents posed as businesspeople and allegedly gave Homan $50,000 after he purportedly agreed to help them win government contracts if Trump returned to office. While the White House and Homan have both denied any wrongdoing, and Homan was not a government official at the time, the FBI's broader corruption probe has continued to draw political attention. Authorities have since closed the case. As Politico reports, the interview between Vance and Stephanopoulos got increasingly heated, with Stephanopoulos attempting to get Vance to answer the question about Homan multiple times before ending the conversation.

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This on-air clash is not the first between the Trump camp and ABC. Last year, Trump sued Stephanopoulos and the network for defamation after the host stated on air that Trump had been found "liable for rape," referencing the E. Jean Carroll lawsuit. The case, which found Trump civilly liable for sexual abuse but not rape by New York state's definition, was ultimately settled with ABC contributing $15 million to Trump's presidential library and covering $1 million in legal fees.

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