Though I had heard the rumblings all week of Trump’s VP Pick, I woke up the next morning to a shock upon reading the NY Post and seeing Donald Trump had selected JD Vance as his vice president. Unlike Alexander in the children’s book this won’t just be a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. This pick will cause a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad campaign season. I had gone to bed early the night before due to a headache and now it was only going to get worse. Donald Trump is the best choice for the 2024 election as my colleague Zeke discussed however, his VP pick is not.
For Trump to accomplish what his fans hope, his first order of business is to win the election. The selection of JD Vance does nothing to advance that. Even if you may like JD Vance, he does nothing to further Trump’s appeal to a broader swath of the electorate. He only risks alienating independents, who are the ones that will decide this election.
Trump’s VP Pick: Fodder for Democrats
For starters, Trump’s VP pick provides the Democrats with ready-made cannon fodder with some of these ready-made whoppers…”I’m a NEVER Trump guy” “I never liked him” “My god what an idiot.” Vance even thought about supporting Hillary in 2016 calling trump “noxious” and “reprehensible.” Of course, we cannot leave out the favorite line of the Democrats (and Vance) comparing Trump to “America’s Hitler” and a “moral disaster.”
We are hammered daily by the media about Trump’s pettiness and demands of stalwart loyalty. However, in practice he appears to have the forgiveness of Mother Teresa and MLK Jr all rolled into one. You better believe CNN, MSNBC, and every Democrat operative has these on repeat and ready to air non-stop as the election airs.
Even candidates such as Marco Rubio who he has run against in a bitter Republican primary never engaged in this level of name-calling. Nor did he threaten to vote for Hillary Clinton. If Trump’s VP Pick was Marco Rubio it would be one thing to clarify their policy disputes during the 2016 primary season, it’s another thing to clarify calling your future boss America’s Hitler.
Vance’s Opportunism
I do not see how you can pick a vice president who has engaged in such out-and-out attacks on Trump the person. Trump’s VP pick Vance was a liberal darling as little as 8 years ago. He is nothing more than an opportunist who realized hitching his wagon to Trump was the best way to gain power and influence in the Republican party. And it worked for him, however, it may cost Trump the election. His about-turn on Donald Trump began when he saw that was the way the party was heading even if it conflicted with his internal beliefs.
JD Vance as Trump’s VP pick was an acceptable pick when you’re up against the corpse of Joe Biden. A man who doesn’t know where or who he is. And while the Vance VP pick came in before Joe withdrew from the race the writing was on the wall. It was clear at that point that the elite in the Democratic party we’re not going to allow this charade to go on.
Alternative Choices
When going up against Kamala Harris who is not brilliant by any stretch of the imagination but a far cry from the current mental patient who occupies the white house Trump’s VP pick must attempt to broaden Trump’s somewhat narrow appeal.
Trump whether we like it or not has a problem with woman voters who are put off by his persona. We can just look at the drop in support particularly from suburban women from 2016 to 2020. JD Vance as Trump’s VP pick is not likely to broaden this appeal since he will be too easy to paint as a younger Trump clone. A Marco Rubio or a Tim Scott would have lightened up some of Trump’s rough outer edges.
For example, Glenn Youngkin would have been a great pick. He’s a well-liked governor in charge of a state that seemed to be swaying more to the right in this election. Yet his name never even really seemed up for consideration. He is a culture warrior and proud Republican without the baggage of Desantis. Tim Scott would have been another perfectly fine, even if not spectacular VP choice. He is well-spoken, articulate and has a great backstory of achieving the American dream. He would even help broaden Trump’s growing appeal to African American men. Which polling seems to indicate he is doing better than any Republican candidate in recent memory.
Not to go through every possible candidate one by one but the point is that most would have been a better pick than Vance. He is too easy to paint as a MAGA extremist. You have instant soundbites of him blasting Trump, and he does nothing to broaden Trump’s base. Anyone who likes JD Vance as the pick was voting for Trump regardless. Politico did an article on 55 things to know about JD Vance here fore more details on his history in politics.
Takeaways
One might argue but what difference does the Trump VP pick make? And that’s true, it won’t sway tons of votes. But in an election that is as close as this one even just pulling in a few thousand extra votes is a big deal. The 45th president likely jumped the gun on his pick and may be having a case of buyer’s remorse. However, this would never be admitted in public. He also may have been thinking of the future of his movement since Vance is only 39. But why leave that in the hands of someone who has shown he can turn on a dime instead of the more charismatic Donald Trump Jr?
All of this is not to say that JD Vance has torpedoed Trump’s chances of gracing the halls of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave again. I would still even say he is the front-runner in the election. It has just made getting back there that much more difficult.
Maybe you like the Vance choice? Maybe I’m overlooking something? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
