In a strange, Trumpian kind of way, the choice of J.D. Vance, Ohio’s junior U.S. Senator, as Donald Trump’s vice presidential running mate, makes perfect sense.
Here’s a wealthy author who made a fortune writing a book about growing up poor and Appalachian in Middletown, Ohio, who, only two years ago, began a political career that went from zero to 60 in record time, winning one of the highest offices in the land in 2022.
Vance had zero experience as an elected official, but, he was armed with a law degree from Yale and a resume that included a stint as a U.S. Marine, and a huge wad of money as a venture capitalist.
And now, possibly, he is headed to the vice presidency of the United States.
So, what does he bring to Trump’s GOP ticket?
Why Vance
On the surface, and in terms of the conventional wisdom of choosing running mates, Vance brings nothing.
He comes from a state that Trump has already won twice; and most assume Trump will win again.
Two years ago, when Vance faced then-Democratic congressman Tim Ryan for the Senate, he won — but he won running nine percentage points behind fellow Republican Mike DeWine, who was running for re-election as Ohio's governor.
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He brings no new group of voters to Trump — nearly every American who likes and admires Vance, will vote for Trump anyway.
The only thing he brings to the ticket is the one thing Donald Trump cares about — complete obedience and total loyalty.
“It doesn’t make any sense in terms of a traditional vice presidential pick,’’ said David Niven, political science professor at the University of Cincinnati. “This pick makes sense only in that loyalty is the only thing Donald Trump really cares about.”
Vance certainly checks that box.
From the moment Vance entered the Senate chamber for the first time in Jan. 2023, he has been carrying water for the former president on the Senate floor and in countless social media posts where he often parrots Trump word-for-word.
Saturday evening, only a few hours after Trump was wounded by a bullet from an AR-15 at the Pennsylvania rally, Vance was on X, the former Twitter, blaming the shooting on President Biden’s rhetorical attacks on Trump.
This came at a time when no one knew a single thing about who the shooter was and what motivated him to fire on Trump and the crowd. We now know who he was, but are no closer to knowing his motive.
That speaks to what Trump wants in a running mate.
“The only thing J.D. Vance brings to the campaign is that he is an echo chamber for Donald Trump,’’ Niven said.
A 'generational choice'
Back in 2016, Trump chose a traditional running mate in Mike Pence of Indiana, who brought to the table a following of social conservatives who had their doubts about a presidential nominee with a carefully groomed reputation as a playboy billionaire.
Mark R. Weaver, a lawyer and a long-time GOP political strategist, said he believes that Trump is winning the race and didn’t have to play it safe with a traditional pick.
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“Trump is ahead; he can do what he wants,’’ Weaver said.
This is more of a “generational choice” for Trump than one tied to geography or ideology, Weaver said.
Trump is 78 years old. His new running mate doesn’t turn 40 until Aug. 2.
“J.D. has a foot in both the establishment wing and in the populist wing of the Republican Party,” Weaver said. “Vance does really well in the soundbite world of Washington.
“His understanding of policy exceeds that of most people who work under the Capitol dome,’’ Weaver said. “Most senators get note cards from staff people who tell them what to say. Vance is the kind who probably teaches policy to his staff.”
Vance's past comments about Trump already resurfacing
Eight years ago, when Vance was out touting his book "Hillbilly Elegy," he was calling Trump an “idiot” and “reprehensible,” at one point comparing Trump to Hitler.
Vance spent a lot of time in his 2022 Senate campaign explaining that away, especially once he got Trump’s endorsement in a tough Republican primary fight.
He said that once he got to know Trump he saw that he was wrong; and said that he could understand why Trump was so popular with working-class people.
Democrats began pulling out those 2016 quotes minutes after Trump named Vance as his running mate Monday afternoon. The Trump campaign is banking on the notion that voters either don’t remember or don’t care about Vance’s political shape-shifting.
Niven said the only thing that matters to Trump now is obedience. Absolute, unquestioning loyalty.
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“He wants a vice president who won’t pull out the 25th Amendment on him someday,’’ Niven said.
He was referring to the constitutional amendment on presidential succession that allows the vice president and a majority of the cabinet to temporarily remove the president, with the vice president becoming acting president.
“He’s got that 25th Amendment insurance policy now,’’ Niven said. “In J.D. Vance, Donald Trump has exactly what he wants.”
