Republicans believe former President Donald Trump made the right choice in picking Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance to be his running mate as the campaign enters the fourth quarter of the election season.
Through the final weeks of August, Vance has spent his time on the campaign trail, sparring with hostile media and drawing contrast to Vice President Kamala Harris as she dodges the media. Prior though, Vance was fighting a barrage of Democratic attacks that branded him as “weird” for past statements.
Republicans and campaign officials expressed satisfaction with Vance’s performance in conversations with the Daily Caller.
“J.D. Vance is doing what Vice President picks are supposed to do, which is aggressively make the case in the Earned Media, which is the press, the entire political world is saying, not Where’s Waldo, but where’s Walz. He’s not out there making the case in the press the way VP candidates are expected to do,” GOP strategist Mark R. Weaver told the Daily Caller.
After Trump chose Vance as his running mate, Democrats unearthed comments from a Fox News interview and a July 2021 speech about “childless cat ladies” and women who didn’t have children. Vance faced many questions about the comments, including in interviews with NBC and CNN.
Democrats used the comments alongside debunked rumors to brand Vance as “weird” — a line of attack CNN senior data reporter Harry Enten said was hurting the vice presidential candidate’s favorability.
Amidst the rocky start, Trump downplayed the importance of the vice president — a comment that pundits and social media users believed indicated je wasn’t thrilled with his pick.
“Of course he is. I wouldn’t have chosen him for my ticket if I wasn’t certain he could assume the presidency in the event of a crisis,” Trump began.
“Historically, the vice president, in terms of the election, does not have any impact,” he continued. “I mean, virtually no impact.”
Reporter: “How are you preparing for your debate with Tim Walz?”
Vance: “I have a friend who embellishes and lies a lot, I’m having him stand in for Tim Walz”pic.twitter.com/dTCBP13uqh— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 20, 2024
But since Vance’s battle with hostile media, Shermichael Singleton told the Daily Caller that the senator has found his footing.
“People forget this, J.D. Vance has only recently been elected to the United States Senate. This is not someone with multiple terms of political experience. And I don’t say that as a negative. I said that to say that a lot of people were saying, well, he’s floundering here, or he should be doing this, or he’s not doing that, or some of the comments, etc, you have to give someone an opportunity to kind of warm up to this,” Singleton, a GOP strategist, told the Caller.
But it wasn’t long before Vance hit a turning point when he used a question about his past comments to pivot to attack Harris.
“You’ve now asked me three questions about comments that I made three years ago,” Vance said. “I wonder what Kamala Harris thinks about the fact that she supported policies that open the American Southern border. I wonder what Kamala Harris thinks about Joe Biden’s mental faculty for the office.”
“I’m interviewing you,” Bash replied. “Not Kamala Harris.”
“You are interviewing me, Dana, because I respect the American people enough to sit down for an interview,” Vance quipped. “Kamala Harris has been the nominee for three weeks. She hasn’t sat down for a real interview.”
“I sort of always expected that the guy would eventually get into the zone, and he’s found his footing, and he appears to be more confident and more comfortable. I think one thing I would like to see more of as he has been making the case on the issues, which I think is strong,” Singleton told the Caller.
One week before, Vance had wooed Republicans after landing in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, just after Harris arrived on Air Force Two. The senator walked across the tarmac to the vice presidential plane where he spoke to reporters that Harris had ignored just moments before.
Vance used the moment to highlight how Harris was yet to do a sit-down interview, give a press conference or meaningfully interact with reporters.
Vance after walking over to Harris’s plane: “Hopefully it’s going to be my plane in a few months. I also thought you guys may get lonely, because the VP doesn’t answer questions from reporters.” pic.twitter.com/x2Mgnf5YLH
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 7, 2024
“J.D. Vance is fearless and he clearly gets the better of his exchanges with the media, because they come at him aggressively and he knocks down their attacks with precision,” Tim Murtaugh, a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, told the Caller. “He’s a great asset to the campaign and to President Trump. That’s exactly why the Democrats tried — and failed — to damage him with outrageous lies, because he’s so effective.”
Vance, the campaign officials told the Caller, draws stark contrast to Harris’ chosen running mate, Gov. Tim Walz.
Since joining Harris on the Democratic ticket, Walz has been caught in several lies, including some about his service record. (RELATED: Tim Walz Claimed He Has A Family ‘Because Of’ IVF — But His Wife Used A Different Fertility Treatment)
Walz’s military story unraveled after the Harris campaign itself unearthed a 2018 video of the governor pushing for gun control, saying that “those weapons of war, that I carried in war” should stay only in combat. Social media users were quick to point out that there was a problem with Walz’s statement — he never saw war.
Veterans part of Walz’s unit during his time in service had previously accused him in 2018 of retiring from the Guard to run for Congress once it was revealed that he would be deployed to Iraq. Vance has used the lie to hit Walz before he meets him on the debate stage, questioning why Americans should trust a guy who lied about his military record. (RELATED: Attacks On Walz’s Service Lies Are Only Just Beginning, Trump Insiders Say)
Walz also recently became the subject of a Congressional investigation into his ties to China. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer wrote a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray requesting all documents relating to any Chinese entities that the now-governor may have interacted with while on his dozens of trips to China. (RELATED: ‘We Need Answers’: China Watchers Sound Alarm On Walz’s Cozy Relationship With Beijing)
“J.D. Vance has proven to be a great asset to President Trump’s campaign,” Karoline Leavitt, Trump national press secretary, told the Caller.
“J.D. is authentic, relatable and unafraid to debate the issues as evidenced by his frequent sit-down interviews with hostile press. Meanwhile, Tampon Tim Walz is a radical liberal who lacks credibility and has turned out to be a huge liability for the Harris campaign as more and more of his egregious lies have come to light,” she continued.
‘She Can Go To Hell!’: JD Vance Blasts Kamala Harris For Attacking Trump Attendance At Ceremony For Fallen Marines pic.twitter.com/WRa1BQlsNd
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 28, 2024
Other Vance quips have gained traction in recent weeks as Harris and Walz have been repeatedly pushed to engage with the media and answer questions about policy.
During a recent rally, an audience member asked the potential vice president where his teleprompter was.
“Ma’am, I don’t need a teleprompter. I’ve actually got thoughts in my head, unlike Kamala Harris,” Vance replied.
ROAST ALERT🚨
Audience member: “Where’s your teleprompter?”
JD Vance: “Ma’am, I don’t need a teleprompter. I’ve actually got thoughts in my head, unlike Kamala Harris.” pic.twitter.com/uPlUBpHI9d
— DC Shorts (@theDCshorts) August 28, 2024
Vance took another swipe at Harris after liberal media outlets criticized Trump for a wreath-laying ceremony honoring the 13 service members killed in the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, as a politicized event. Harris and President Joe Biden put out statements honoring the fallen soldiers, but neither had any public events scheduled to recognize the Gold Star families. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Gold Star Families Had Trouble Getting Trump Into Arlington Until House Speaker Intervened)
“Kamala Harris is disgraceful,” Vance said of Harris’s lack of recognition for the families. “We’re going to talk about a story out of those 13 brave, innocent Americans who lost their lives, it’s that Kamala Harris is so asleep at the wheel that she won’t even do an investigation into what happened, and she wants to yell at Donald Trump because he showed up. She can go to hell.”
Two months out from election day, Republicans have found Vance to be the perfect match for Trump on the campaign trail.
“Senator Vance is a natural complement to President Trump, and his American Dream story is resonating well with voters in the Rust Belt who feel left behind by the Biden-Harris administration,” Trump surrogate Harrison Fields told the Caller.