Republican vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance said Tuesday he wants to focus on the future when asked about former President Trump's denial that he lost the 2020 election – a response that was reported by Fox News Debate Dial provoked negative reactions from some voters.

Vance was asked by Democratic candidate Governor Tim Walz whether Trump lost the 2020 election, which Trump has repeatedly denied and which led to the protests on January 6, 2021.

“This was a threat to our democracy in a way we had never seen before, and it manifested itself because Donald Trump couldn't say – he still says – that he didn't lose the election,” Walz said. “Did he lose the 2020 election?”

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Senator JD Vance speaks during the vice presidential debate at CBS Studios on October 1, 2024 in New York. (Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Vance tried to get the ball back into Walz's court.

“Tim, I’m focused on the future. “Did Kamala Harris stop Americans from expressing their opinions after the 2020 COVID situation?” he replied.

Walz called it a “damn non-response.”

“It’s a damn non-response for you not to talk about censorship,” Vance said, adding that there were “problems” in 2020.

Republicans on the Fox News Debate Dial were unimpressed with Walz's line of questioning and the dial dropped, with approval of Vance's answers remaining broadly the same, but the dials for independents and Democrats dropped sharply when Vance dismissed the question. It was the sharpest dive among independents.

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“But you’re attacking us because we don’t believe in democracy,” Vance then said. “The most sacred right in the democracy of the United States is the First Amendment. You yourself have said that there is no First Amendment right to misinformation. Kamala Harris wants to use the power of government and Big Tech to stop people from expressing their opinions. This is a “A threat to democracy that will long outlast this political moment.”

“I want both Democrats and Republicans to reject censorship. Let's convince each other. Let’s discuss ideas and then let’s come together.”

Senator JD Vance and Governor Tim Walz debate at the CBS Broadcast Center on October 1, 2024 in New York City. (Getty Images)

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As he spoke, Republicans' approval rose significantly, independents' approval improved slightly and Democratic approval remained broadly the same.

Walz responded by pointing out the alleged restrictions on free expression.

“You can’t shout fire in a crowded theater — that’s the test, that’s the Supreme Court test.”

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