Until the very end, some people close to Donald Trump tried to talk the former president out of picking Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate.<\/p>\n
Aboard Trump\u2019s plane en route to Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) argued that Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) would be better than the untested Vance because the Cuban American senator might attract more votes in battleground states. He tried to recruit others on Trump\u2019s plane to support his position, according to people with knowledge of the discussions.<\/p>\n
Another adviser argued in a phone call a couple of days earlier that Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) or Rubio would be a better choice because of Vance\u2019s previous comments opposing abortion, asking Trump how he would defend some of the senator\u2019s positions that seemed further to the right than his.<\/p>\n
An array of senators, donors, conservative media personalities and other supporters called Trump in the final 48 hours before the announcement, lobbying for Rubio or someone other than Vance because they said other candidates could attract additional voters to Trump\u2019s coalition, according to five people familiar with the talks who, like others interviewed for this story, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.<\/p>\n
Trump listened as each person made their case, but they said the former president said his gut had been with Vance for many weeks, if not months \u2014 liking his Rust Belt upbringing, foreign and economic policy positions, pugnacious TV appearances and academic pedigree. Vance had influential backers, including Donald Trump Jr. and tech billionaires.<\/p>\n
Trump later said choosing Vance was a difficult pick, likening it to \u201cThe Apprentice,\u201d his former reality television show, in a meeting with Florida\u2019s delegates in Milwaukee. But Trump said it was partially about securing the future of the Republican Party after he was gone. \u201cHe is going to be a superstar in the future,\u201d Trump told the Florida delegates huddled inside the Baird Center, according to an attendee.<\/p>\n
Whether that bet \u2014 one of the most consequential Trump will make this year \u2014 pays off remains unclear. In the nearly two weeks since, President Biden has dropped out of the race and Vice President Harris is now the likely Democratic nominee, energizing Democrats. Vance, meanwhile, had a rocky first full week on the campaign trail since departing the convention, attracting unwanted attention to the Republican ticket.<\/p>\n
The Trump campaign has spent the past week trying to clean up after Vance\u2019s controversial comments, including previous interviews in which he mocked \u201cchildless cat ladies\u201d or took a position on abortion much stronger than Trump\u2019s.<\/p>\n
In addition, previous emails between Vance and a friend reported by the New York Times show Vance saying he hated the police because they mistreated people, calling Trump a \u201cmorally reprehensible human being\u201d and saying that \u201cthe more white people feel like voting for Trump, the more Black people will suffer.\u201d A Trump adviser called the emails \u201cnot ideal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vance has come under attack from friendly quarters, as well, including the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board, social media personality Dave Portnoy and conservative media star Ben Shapiro. Some question the vetting from Trump\u2019s team and are asking if picking Vance could now backfire.<\/p>\n
Some Republican strategists said they fear Vance could hurt the ticket with suburban women \u2014 a group where Trump saw significant erosion in his 2020 loss after his 2016 win. Among Trump allies, there has been \u201cconstant discussion about whether the president made a bad choice,\u201d according to one longtime adviser. Text message chains have blown up with his \u201cawkward public appearances,\u201d the person said.<\/p>\n
Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung defended Vance\u2019s performance as Trump\u2019s running mate. He said the criticism is \u201cnothing more than musings from out-of-touch individuals who have no idea what\u2019s going on. They are so out of the loop, they might as well be living in a different universe.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s campaign aides say the former president remains confident in Vance. The two appeared together at a fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago Thursday evening and at a Minnesota rally Saturday. Vance flew to Oklahoma City on Friday, where he headlined a fundraiser with oil baron Harold Hamm that was said to have raised more than $2 million. He is expected to keep a busy travel schedule \u2014 both appearing in Midwestern states and raising money. The campaign has also been pleased with Vance\u2019s sharp attacks against Harris in recent speeches.<\/p>\n
\u201cPresident Trump is thrilled with the choice he made with Senator Vance to be his running mate, and they are the perfect team to take back the White House,\u201d Cheung said. \u201cMeanwhile, Democrats are in complete disarray after their coup that forcibly removed Biden from the campaign, proving they are the real threats to democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump was aware, advisers said, that Vance had been critical of him in the past. People familiar with the vetting said that Trump\u2019s team was aware of some, but not all, of his previous comments that have drawn attention \u2014 and expect more revelations to come. Top advisers to Trump watched many of his previous interviews, read his book, \u201cHillbilly Elegy,\u201d and asked him questions, along with a more formal paperwork process, a Trump adviser said.<\/p>\n
\u201cA thorough and exhaustive vetting obviously took place and there was no doubt Senator Vance was absolutely qualified to be the next Vice President of the United States. In politics, people usually cower in fear and curl up in a ball when things get tough. Not Senator Vance and certainly not President Trump,\u201d Cheung said.<\/p>\n
Kevin Madden, a spokesman for Mitt Romney\u2019s presidential campaigns, said the Trump-Vance campaign appears to have been \u201ccaught flat footed with past comments.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery single day on a presidential campaign, you are getting a political colonoscopy,\u201d Madden said. \u201cBut what\u2019s compounded here in this case, we\u2019re talking about a 39-year-old who is one-third of the way through his Senate term and that\u2019s why you\u2019re seeing the sort of bumpy start.\u201d<\/p>\n
The particularly rough start for Vance has come as a welcome surprise for the Harris campaign, according to a Harris aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share private conversations. Although they had expected Vance to face some questions over his past critiques of Trump, the Harris team had not expected some of the harsh internet buzz.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did not expect we would have cat lady news cycles,\u201d the aide said. \u201cThis is organically happening without us pushing. \u2026 I\u2019ve never seen anything like it. It\u2019s so weird.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Harris campaign has tried to highlight other past comments, such as Vance\u2019s positions on abortion \u2014 an issue Trump has often sought to avoid and that polls show is a vulnerability for Republicans with the general electorate. People close to the Harris campaign say the selection of Vance makes the arguments easier.<\/p>\n
KamalaHQ, the Harris campaign\u2019s rapid-response X account, has repeatedly posted old Vance content. In one video clip from a 2021 talk about no-fault divorces, Vance says that divorces, even after domestic abuse, maybe \u201cworked out for the moms and dads, though I\u2019m skeptical. But it really didn\u2019t work out for the kids of those marriages.\u201d<\/p>\n
In an audio clip from a 2022 podcast, Vance advocates for a \u201cfederal response\u201d to restrict women traveling across state lines for abortions. And in a 2016 video of Vance on the speaking circuit after his book release, he says Trump is \u201ca really bad candidate and frankly I think he\u2019s a really bad person.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vance has said those clips about policy positions were taken out of context and that his position on Trump has evolved since he saw Trump in action as president.<\/p>\n
Vance has drawn significant mockery and derision for having said on Fox News in 2021 that women politicians like Harris who haven\u2019t given birth are \u201cchildless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives.\u201d He added that they have \u201cno direct stake\u201d in America\u2019s future.<\/p>\n
Vance went on Megyn Kelly\u2019s show and tried to clarify these previous comments. \u201cI\u2019ve got nothing against cats. I\u2019ve got nothing against dogs. I\u2019ve got one dog at home and I love him,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople are focusing so much on the sarcasm and not on the substance of what I actually said, and the substance of what I said, Megyn \u2014 I\u2019m sorry, it is true. It is true that we\u2019ve become anti-family. It is true that the left has become anti-child.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vance spokesman William Martin said it was \u201cno surprise\u201d that Democrats were attacking Vance and that Vance was planning instead to highlight the Biden administration\u2019s record on inflation and immigration. \u201cThose are the issues voters actually care about, no matter how much the leftwing media wishes otherwise,\u201d Martin said.<\/p>\n
Vance was pushed by Trump Jr., the former president\u2019s eldest son, and a range of influential others, including tech billionaires such as Elon Musk and media personalities such as Tucker Carlson.<\/p>\n
One of Trump\u2019s goals in the pick was to have a candidate with Midwest roots who could \u201ccamp out\u201d in states like Pennsylvania and talk to blue-collar voters. Trump is underperforming with White men and Vance could help shore up that base, advisers say.<\/p>\n
Another goal was to tap into Vance\u2019s significant donor network, including in Silicon Valley. And Trump liked Vance on television, advisers said.<\/p>\n
\u201cJD\u2019s book is number one on Amazon right now. People are paying him to read his life story. The Harris campaign will have to pay TV networks and social media platforms to tell her life story,\u201d said Justin Sayfie, a Florida lobbyist who has raised money for Trump.<\/p>\n
David Urban, a longtime Trump ally in Pennsylvania, said he believed Vance\u2019s personal story would resonate with blue-collar voters.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he goes and says to people at a town hall, or at a rally, how many people have been affected by drugs and alcohol? How many people in this crowd have worked two or three jobs and feel like they can\u2019t get ahead? How many people in this crowd have joined the military to further yourself?\u201d Urban said.<\/p>\n
So far, Vance has received warm, if far smaller, welcomes than Trump.<\/p>\n
One of the first bumps in the campaign trail came as early as Vance\u2019s rally Monday in his hometown of Middletown, Ohio. The auditorium of the high school he attended filled with a few hundred people, including those he had known from childhood \u2014 among them his mother and beloved math teacher \u2014 chanting \u201cJ-D!\u201d<\/p>\n
When an audience member shouted at Vance about requiring identification to vote, the candidate, new to the national stage, got distracted. The diatribe that followed became the most watched moment from the whole event.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is the weirdest thing to me, Democrats say that it is racist to believe \u2014 well, they say it\u2019s racist to do anything. I had a Diet Mountain Dew yesterday and one today; I\u2019m sure they\u2019re going to call that racist, too,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Greg Hieser, 68, watched the event and said he still believed Trump and Vance would win \u2014 even if he had some misgivings about Vance\u2019s speaking style.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s still green about it,\u201d Hieser said, \u201cbut he\u2019ll get the hang of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Until the very end, some people close to Donald Trump tried to talk the former president out of picking Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate. Aboard Trump\u2019s plane en route to Milwaukee for the Republican National Convention, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) argued that Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) would be better than the untested Vance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":6868,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6867","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6867","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6867"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6867\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6867"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6867"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6867"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}