Vance spokesman accuses AP of 'blatantly lying' with out-of-context quote: 'I have lost all credibility'

A spokesman for J.D. Vance blasted The Associated Press for publishing a headline Thursday implying that the Republican vice presidential nominee had dismissed school shootings as a “fact of life.”

In an exclusive comment to Fox News Digital, Vance spokesman William Martin attacked the AP.

“This is another case of the Fake News Media lying blatantly about a Republican politician. Senator Vance said the exact opposite of what the Associated Press was saying. It’s no wonder the AP has lost any credibility it had years ago because they will lie about anything to support Democrats. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris has called for all police to be removed from schools, endangering children across America. This is another example of how Kamala Harris’ weak, failed, and dangerously liberal agenda makes her unfit for office,” Martin said.

At a rally in Phoenix, Vance addressed the recent mass shooting that took place Wednesday at Apalachee High School in Barrow County, Georgia.

Republican vice presidential candidate U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) speaks during a rally at Team Hardinger trucking company on August 28, 2024 in Erie, Pennsylvania. Photo by Jeff Swensen/Getty Images

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“I don’t like that this is a reality,” Vance said. “But if you’re a psychopath and you want to make headlines, you know our schools are easy targets. And we need to have more security in our schools. We need to have more security so that if a psychopath wants to walk in the front door and kill a bunch of kids, he can’t do it.”

However, in reporting the quote, AP appeared to imply that Vance had called school shootings a “fact of life” without deploring the fact.

“JD Vance Says School Shootings Are 'Fact of Life', Calls for Better Security,” the headline originally read.

The title was also featured in an X article which was later removed after receiving a community notice.

“Misleading title: the full quote is: 'I don't like that this is a fact of life,'” the note reads.

AP later replaced the headline and message X, acknowledging the update.

The new headline reads: “JD Vance laments school shootings are 'fact of life', calls for better security.”

“This post replaces a previous post that was deleted to add context to Vance's partial quote,” the AP wrote.

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Fox News Digital has contacted the AP for comment.

The Harris-Walz campaign responded by attacking Vance and former President Trump.

“Yesterday, Vice President Harris said that ‘it doesn’t have to be this way’ in response to another senseless school shooting. Donald Trump and JD Vance believe that school shootings are a ‘fact of life’ and that ‘we need to get over it,’” Harris-Walz 2024 spokesperson Ammar Moussa said in a statement.

Moussa added: “Vice President Harris and Governor Walz know that we can take action to keep our children safe and keep guns out of the hands of criminals. Donald Trump and JD Vance will always choose the NRA and the gun lobby over our children. That is the choice that will be made in this election.”

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