Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) has endured nearly unrelenting attacks and smears from leftists and the liberal media since he was named as former President Donald Trump's running mate and the Republican vice presidential nominee earlier in the summer.

Now some of the same media leftists  -- at The New Republic, to be specific -- are accusing Vance of having "sold out" his wife and family to instead defend Trump by, apparently, not sufficiently disavowing a particularly controversial individual who supports the former president.

That individual is right-wing investigative journalist and conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer, whose recent close presence around Trump has sparked concerns among Democrats and some Republicans and who was recently accused of being racist for making a humorous reference to Vice President Kamala Harris' half-Indian heritage.

Vance, Loomer, Trump, Harris, and the latest media outrage

Sen. Vance appeared Sunday on NBC News' "Meet the Press" with host Kristen Welker and, among other topics, was asked about the controversy over Loomer's alleged relationship with former President Trump. Welker said of Loomer, "She recently said that Kamala Harris, whose mother was Indian, if she wins in November, quote, 'The White House will smell like curry.' Senator, you are married to an Indian-American woman. What was your reaction to hearing those comments specifically?"

Vance first addressed a prior question from Welker about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, that she had not let him answer but then said, "Now, you asked about Laura Loomer. Look, Laura Loomer is not affiliated with the Trump campaign."

"She said something about curry in the White House that I first read about this morning actually, because I knew that you would ask me about it," he continued. "Look, Kristen, I make a mean chicken curry. I don't think that it's insulting for anybody to talk about their dietary preferences or what they want to do in the White House."

"I think what Laura said about Kamala Harris is not what we should be focused on. We should be focused on the policy and on the issues," Vance said. "And look, so yeah, do I agree with what Laura Loomer said about Kamala Harris? No, I don't. I also don't think that this is actually an issue of national import."

"Is Laura Loomer running for president? No, Kamala Harris is running for president," he added. "And whether you're eating curry at your dinner table or fried chicken, things have gotten more expensive thanks to her policies. Let's talk about the person running for president of the United States, not a social media personality who supports Donald Trump."

Should be focused on Harris' disastrous policies, not getting offended by a "social media personality"

Apparently unsatisfied with that response, NBC's Welker pressed Sen. Vance on the matter and asked, "Senator, were you and your wife offended, and do you disavow those comments that even some Trump allies say are blatantly racist?"

"Kristen, I just told you, I don't like those comments," Vance replied. "And I think we ought to focus on Kamala Harris' policy failures. I also don't look at the internet for every single thing to get offended by."

"I'm running for vice president because I think Kamala Harris has been a disaster, and we have to undo her policies. That's what we should be focused on," he added. "But by the way, when I say, 'we,' I mean the American media. Kamala Harris opened the border, she made food unaffordable. We should be talking about her failure as an American leader, not a social media personality who supports Donald Trump."

JD Vance downplays Trump traveling with Laura Loomer and Loomer's racist comments about Indian-Americans like Vance's wife: "Is Laura Loomer running for president? No. Kamala Harris is running for president...I don't look at the internet for every single thing to get offended by" pic.twitter.com/sdGuF1yibl

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 15, 2024

Surprise -- leftist media outlet not happy with Vance's response

Sen. Vance's response to Welker's questions about Loomer was deemed unsatisfactory by the leftists at The New Republic, who not only deemed his remarks "pathetic" and suggested they were an insult toward his Indian-American wife, Usha Vance, but also accused him of perpetuating "racist stereotypes" by mentioning "fried chicken" in reference to VP Harris.

The progressive outlet further decried how Vance refused to fully disavow Loomer when given an opportunity to do so and were incensed that, "Instead, the vice presidential pick blamed the drama on chronically online behavior before continuing to attack Harris’s economic policies and jabbing fingers at the media for covering the far-right conspiracy theorist’s influence on the Republican presidential nominee."