CBS News probably thought they had a gotcha moment lined up when they reached out to Vice President JD Vance for a comment on his mother-in-law’s past work in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). What they got instead was a masterclass in handling media nonsense—with a side of well-earned humiliation.
The article in question attempts to paint a bizarre picture: Vance, a key figure in the Trump administration’s effort to dismantle DEI programs, is somehow undermining his own family because his mother-in-law, Lakshmi Chilukuri, has supported DEI policies at UC San Diego. The implied scandal? Nonexistent.
CBS, leave family alone.
JD Vance scolds CBS for ‘harassing’ his mother-in-law over DEI differences ‘in order to attack’ Trump https://t.co/PwzO61eq0r— Kathy Van Mullekom (@diggindirt) March 12, 2025
Vance, however, wasn’t about to let CBS dictate the narrative. He responded with his trademark clarity—first by doubling down on the administration’s anti-DEI stance, then by turning CBS’s bad-faith framing on its head.
“I don’t like DEI, and I’m proud of what our administration has done on that front,” he told CBS.
“But I love my mother-in-law. If she doesn’t share my views on DEI, I suppose I’ll have to do what 99 percent of Americans do when confronted with a family member who doesn’t always agree with them: get over it,” he said. “I’ll choose instead to focus on her kindness and the fact that she’s an incredible mother and loving grandmother to the most important people in my life.”
“Since you’re fact-checking me, I think it’s important to say what’s actually going on.”
JD Vance pushes back against a moderator fact check on immigration at the CBS News Vice Presidential Debate. pic.twitter.com/aoofujR9y7
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 2, 2024
Boom. In one sentence, Vance effortlessly shut down the manufactured controversy while exposing the absurdity of CBS’s entire premise.
But he didn’t stop there.
“This story exists because CBS has decided that harassing my mother-in-law is a reasonable price in order to attack President Trump,” he added, making it clear that this wasn’t journalism—it was just another attempt to go after the administration by any means necessary.
This latest exchange is just another chapter in Vance’s ongoing battles with CBS, a network that has repeatedly found itself on the losing end of their encounters with the vice president.
Take, for instance, the October vice presidential debate, where CBS anchor Margaret Brennan—despite the network’s promise not to interfere—couldn’t resist trying to “fact-check” Vance in real time. Vance wasn’t having it.
“Why is Vance rewarding the media that hates him with his first interview as VP?”
This exchange on Afghan refugees, that’s why. pic.twitter.com/p9RFMKrSBL— Jorge Bonilla (@BonillaJL) January 26, 2025
“Margaret, the rules were that you guys weren’t going to fact-check,” he reminded her, before launching into a thorough rebuttal. CBS’s response? Cutting his mic.
Or consider his now-iconic moment on Face the Nation, where Brennan attempted to parse whether a terrorist who entered the U.S. illegally had been radicalized before or after crossing the border.
Vance’s reply? A no-nonsense, viral-worthy takedown:
“I don’t really care, Margaret. I don’t want that person in my country, and I think most Americans agree with me.”
