During a White House press conference Tuesday, Vice President JD Vance pushed back on what he characterized as an “inflammatory” question from The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg, reiterating both his and President Donald Trump’s opposition to insider trading.
“I am a big fan of banning members of Congress from trading stocks,” Vance said. “So is the president of the United States. All of us believe that nobody should be taking proprietary information gained from public service and buying and selling stocks. We want to ban that practice, and I think the way to lead by example is banning it.”
Vance’s remarks came after Feinberg suggested that Trump may personally trade stocks using information available through his office, despite the president’s stated opposition to congressional insider trading.
The vice president criticized the framing of the question, saying the reporter lacked “a little bit of objectivity.”
“There are a lot of things in that speech masquerading as a question that didn’t actually get asked,” Vance said.
Before directly addressing the claim, Vance noted that Feinberg prefaced his question with a broader critique of the administration, including accusations that members of the executive branch were “terrible human beings.”
“Let me answer your question—that was a doozy—but before I answer it, I want to just observe that there are different ways to ask a question,” Vance said. “You could just ask a question, or you could do like a speech saying, ‘Oh, Mr. Vice President, you’re a terrible human being, and so is the president and the entire Cabinet,’ and then I’m like, ‘What’s your question?’ and then your question is, ‘How dare you?’”
“Come on, man,” the Vance added.
The vice president went on to reject the implication that Trump personally conducts stock trades while in office.
“The president doesn’t sit on his computer in the Oval Office on his Robinhood account—come on, man, that’s absurd,” Vance said. “He has independent wealth advisers who manage his money. He is a wealthy person who has had success in business. He’s not making these stock trades himself.”
“Your question imputes that,” Vance continued. “It doesn’t say it exactly, but a reasonable person who hears that question would assume that the president is sitting around doing that. He’s not.”
