JD Vance Was Supposed to Be a MAGA Heir. Now He’s a Liability.

Rarely has a vice presidential nominee failed so badly, so quickly.

July 31, 2024 at 5:30 PM GMT+7, By Patricia Lopez

Seldom has a VP candidate belly-flopped on the national stage as badly as Ohio Senator JD Vance. From unearthed remarks about higher taxes for childless people to contradicting his boss, Vance’s rollout has become a late-night punch line and a major distraction for Donald Trump’s campaign.

That’s not how this was supposed to work. Vance was hailed at the Republican National Convention as the heir apparent to the MAGA movement — a polished, brilliant Yale-educated lawyer whose up-from-the-bottom “Hillbilly Elegy” back story would have broad crossover appeal.

Instead, Vance came out of the gate stumbling, appearing stiff and unfunny at his first campaign rally post-convention. He often comes across as defensive and inauthentic. He and his campaign have been forced to respond to a steady stream of leaked conversations, videos, social media posts, and more that show Vance in an unfavorable light. On Monday, a transgender friend and classmate from Vance’s law school days went public to discuss how their long friendship ended when Vance abandoned his previously held ideals in his pursuit of power.

There are reports that some Republicans are second-guessing the once-rising star’s selection as the former president’s running mate. Trump himself must be having second thoughts about his decision. And if he’s not, he should be.

The problem is that Trump can never admit that he’s made a mistake. He sees it as a weakness. But his campaign could pull a Biden, so to speak, and convince Vance to step aside voluntarily for the good of the ticket and the country — or whatever pretext is acceptable. Trump could profess his grief at losing a political talent, pretend to accept Vance’s decision reluctantly — and then move on.

There would be few impediments to Trump getting a do-over. Political parties have wide latitude over how they conduct business. Given Trump’s iron grip on the GOP, there’s little doubt that the change could be made swiftly. Even reconvening the convention, as some have speculated, would not be too big an obstacle given the ability of delegates to hold virtual votes.

Several prospects could sway Trump. Dumping Vance would allow him to hit reset on his campaign — a favorite tactic of his. Longtime Republican strategist Karl Rove delivered a harsh assessment of the race Monday on Fox News, saying that Trump “is clearly in a subordinate role” to Vice President Kamala Harris. “He likes being the guy who’s setting the tempo of the campaign,” Rove said, “and that’s not happening.”

Naming a new running mate also would allow Trump to indulge in another classic Trumpian move: creating chaos for Democrats just as presumptive nominee Harris zeroes in on her own VP pick. With so little time left, this could become a game of chicken.

The drama would allow Trump to dominate the headlines again, stealing some of Harris’ thunder.

Vance has shown himself less than adroit at repairing the damage he’s created. After denigrating women without children as “childless cat ladies” bent on making everyone as miserable as themselves, he tried to dismiss it as sarcasm. But he has a history of such remarks, and in a 2020 podcast, he went even further, saying leaders without children were “more sociopathic” and “less mentally stable.” He accused childless critics of being the “most deranged” and most psychotic.

He later went on radio host Megyn Kelly’s show to apologize — to the cats. But he doubled down on the substance of his remarks regarding childless women, saying, “I’m sorry, it’s true. It’s true that we have become anti-family.”

The damage was enough that Trump felt compelled to step in and do cleanup — never a good sign. He defended Vance but pointedly noted that while families are good, some people never meet the right partner, and “being childless is just as good.”

What’s more, polling data shows that Vance may be turning into a liability in the part of the country where he was supposed to shore up support: the Midwest.

A CNN/SSRS poll earlier this month found that only 28% of people in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin view Vance favorably, compared with 44% who view him unfavorably.

The capper to Vance’s stumbles may have come last weekend at a private fundraiser in a Minneapolis suburb, shortly before he joined Trump at a public rally in St. Cloud. According to the Washington Post, Vance told donors that Harris’ vault to the top of the ticket was “a political sucker punch.” He went on to say that Harris didn’t have the same baggage as President Joe Biden and was “obviously not struggling” as Biden had. Trump has insisted that Harris’ entry into the race has made little difference. There’s nothing Trump hates more than appearing weak or uncertain. ...