“The View”’s Alyssa Farah Griffin says J.D. Vance “almost” manipulated her into believing he’s not a 'mean-spirited internet troll'

Griffin analyzed Vance's debate against Tim Walz, admitting the Democratic VP pick had an off night, but called Vance an "internet bully who derides women."

The View star and former Donald Trump White House staffer Alyssa Farah Griffin brought her signature Hot Topics sensibilities to CNN to grill Republican VP pick J.D. Vance following his debate performance Tuesday night against Kamala Harris' Democratic running mate Tim Walz.

After pundits hailed 40-year-old Vance — the Ohio senator whose life story served as the basis for Netflix's 2020 drama Hillbilly Elegy — for displaying more restraint than his running mate Trump on the debate stage, Griffin, 35, warned American voters not to fall for his adaptive charm on national TV.

"I was struck by the fact that J.D. Vance is a significantly more eloquent Donald Trump," Griffin said during a panel discussion moderated by Anderson Cooper, adding that she doesn't agree with Vance on many policy issues, but highlighted that "he speaks to MAGA in a way that he comes off as an incredibly effective communicator."

She went on to call Vance "a chameleon" in the race, pointing out that there are "multiple sides of him" and assessed his ability to adapt "one of his greatest political strengths" in the race.

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"He showed up with a command of facts. There were some untrue things that he said, but he tried to show a side of empathy. I found myself believing it," Griffin said, seemingly referencing a moment that Vance expressed concern after Walz revealed that his 17-year-old son once witnessed a shooting.

"And then I remember his lies about Haitian kids, his comments about childless cat ladies, and his general record online is a mean-spirited internet troll," Griffin continued. "So, long and short, I don't know that this moves the needle, but I do think it solidifies his place as the MAGA heir apparent after Trump."

On social media, Griffin elaborated on her thoughts on Vance's shape-shifting abilities.

"He can play the role of eloquent, empathetic debate opponent & just as easily pivot to Far-Right Internet Troll who spreads baseless lies about immigrants," she wrote on X. "I find myself wanting to believe Vance’s moments expressing empathy. Then I remember the entire persona he spent the last 5 years building as an internet bully who derides women, doesn’t care about war-torn Ukraine, & didn’t care about how his lies impacted Springfield."

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Griffin's words reference several of Vance's controversies in the recent past, including a widely derided quip he made in a resurfaced 2021 interview with Tucker Carlson, in which he criticized "childless cat ladies" he claimed were running Democratic politics, as well as backing Trump's since-debunked claim that Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio were eating the population's cats and dogs.

Vance also drew criticism on Tuesday night after claiming that Trump conducted a peaceful transition of power after losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden, despite the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection occurring days prior to the inauguration in 2021.

Entertainment Weekly has reached out to representatives for the Trump campaign for comment.

Griffin is on The View every weekday at 11 a.m. ET/PT on ABC.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.