- Donald Trump said that Senate candidate JD Vance said "some bad shit" about him in the past.
- He has since moved past the comments and referred to Vance as "someone who could win."
- Vance once referred to Trump as "America's Hitler" in leaked text messages.
Trump recognized that JD Vance said some "bad shit" about him in the past while introducing the Ohio Senate candidate during a rally on Saturday.
"He's a guy that said some bad shit about me, he did, but you know what? Every one of the others did also," Trump said.
Trump said that he has since "put that aside." He also claims that many people who have had their doubts about him eventually return to support him.
"They all said bad, but they all came back," Trump said.
Trump endorsed Vance for Senate last Friday, to the chagrin of many Republican lawmakers. During the rally, Trump said that voters had to "pick someone who could win" when mentioning Vance.
Georgia Rep. Josh McLaurin, Vance's former college roommate, shared a screenshot Monday of a Facebook message exchange between him and Vance in 2016. Vance was a self-described "Never-Trump Guy" during the 2016 election, criticizing Trump as a racist who "actively antagonized Black voters."
"I go back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical asshole like Nixon who wouldn't be that bad (and might even prove useful) or that he's America's Hitler" the text read.
—Josh McLaurin (@JoshforGeorgia) April 18, 2022
Vance has since changed his tune and apologized for past criticisms of Trump.
"The president is right — I wasn't always nice," Vance said during the rally, "but the simple fact is he's the best president of my lifetime and he revealed the corruption in this country like nobody else."
Representatives for Trump and Vance did not immediately return Insider's request for comment.