WATCH: Vance addresses shutdown outlook, plays down Trump meme video of Jeffries

Vice President JD Vance says he doesn’t think “it’s going to be that long” of a government shutdown.

Watch White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Vice President JD Vance’s news briefing in the player above.

Asked Wednesday if he thinks the government will stay shutdown for a lengthy period of time, Vance responded, “I can’t predict.”

“But I don’t think it’s going to be that long a shutdown,” the vice president added.

He also suggested that moderate Democrats might already be “cracking” and willing to defy their party’s congressional leadership and side with Republicans and vote to reopen the government.

Vance hits ‘Chuck Schumer/AOC’ wing of the Democratic Party

In his surprise appearance in the White House press briefing room, Vance repeatedly tied Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, to the far-left wing of the party and accused them of shutting down the government.

READ MORE: What happens now that a government shutdown is underway

“The Chuck Schumer/AOC wing of the Democratic Party shut down the government because they said to us, we will open the government” but only if Republicans give billions of dollars of health care coverage to immigrants here illegally, Vance asserted. He was referring to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

Vance said Democrats are taking essential federal government services “hostage” and added that “our troops are not getting paid starting today because of the Chuck Schumer wing of the Democratic Party.”

The vice president also argued that Schumer was taking this hardline stance because he was afraid of a potential primary challenge from Ocasio-Cortez. He is up for reelection in 2028.

Vance defends Trump meme of House Democratic leader in a sombrero as ‘joking’

Vice President JD Vance played down Trump’s posting on social media of House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York in sombrero, saying it was possible to negotiate in good faith even while trolling the other side.

“The president’s joking and we’re having a good time,” Vance said at the White House news briefing.

WATCH LIVE: Senate gavels in after government shutdown begins and parties point fingers

Vance said it’s possible to “have some fun at the absurdity of the Democrats” and questioned Jeffries calling the post of him in a sombrero as racist.

“I’ll tell Hakeem Jeffries right now, I make this solemn promise to you that if you help us reopen the government, the sombrero memes will stop,” Vance said.

White House press secretary Leavitt rejects Pope Leo’s concerns about treatment of immigrants by Trump administration

Leavitt disputed the concerns raised by Pope Leo about the treatment of immigrants, saying that she “would reject there is inhumane treatment of illegal immigrants in the United States under this administration.”

Leavitt pivoted to say that the inhumane treatment was caused by immigrants in the country illegally and blamed the Biden administration for the border crossings.

READ MORE: Are Democrats or Republicans to blame for the looming government shutdown? Here’s what our poll found

There have been concerns about the treatment of immigrants in holding facilities and instances in which there was a lack of due process in deportation proceedings. But Leavitt said the administration is acting with absolute humanity in its approach.

“This administration is trying to enforce our nation’s laws in the most humane way possible,” Leavitt said.

White House pushes back against scrutiny of Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner

Kushner served as a senior adviser during Trump’s first term and has resurfaced as an informal adviser to Trump as he helps push the president’s 20-proposal for a ceasefire and hostage deal to end the war in Gaza.

Kushner’s private equity firm has received hundreds of millions of dollars from wealth funds in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, a key interlocutor of Hamas. His business connections in the Middle East are raising questions from Democrats and beyond about whether Kushner’s personal business dealings presents a conflict of interest.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called it “despicable” to suggest that Kushner’s involvement is inappropriate.

“Jared is donating his energy and his time to our government, to the president of the United States, to secure world peace, and that is a very noble thing,” Leavitt added.

White House calls Trump posting — then deleting — medical conspiracy meme ‘incredibly refreshing’

Leavitt was asked about Trump posting, then deleting, last weekend an apparently AI-generated video of himself appearing to promote a medical conspiracy theory about a “medbed,” which is supposedly able to cure ailments for anyone laying in it.

She explained the post by offering, “I think the president saw video, and posted it, and then took it down.”

“And he has the right to do that. It’s his social media. He’s incredibly transparent,” Leavitt added.

Leavitt didn’t speak to the conspiracy theory behind the video, but said of Trump: “He likes to share memes. He likes to share videos. He likes to repost things that he sees other people post on social media as well. And I think it’s quite refreshing that we have a president who was so open and honest, directly, himself.”

Leavitt also said that, “Many a times on truth you are hearing directly from the United States.”