Knowing the veep: Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) wasn’t just tapped by Donald Trump to be his running mate. Vance was hand-picked to lead Trump’s MAGA movement for a generation — and to put another nail in the coffin of the Republican Party’s old guard.
Choosing the first-term GOP senator from Ohio is a brazen middle finger to the few Trump skeptics left in the party. It’s also a sign that the Republican Party’s transformation into Trump’s mold is nearly complete.
To the extent that any Trump skeptics are left, they’re either retiring or not attending the convention. Trump didn’t feel like he needed to choose a more traditional Republican with a broader appeal, as he did in 2016. It’s another sign of his hammerlock on the GOP.
“This isn’t an ‘expand the tent’ pick, that’s for sure,” one Republican senator texted us Monday night. “He’s the intellectual engine behind Trump’s vision.”
Remember why Trump chose Mike Pence in 2016. Trump needed to reassure Republicans who were on the fence about him and unify the party. Pence was supposed to rein Trump in and prevent him from making erratic and potentially dangerous decisions as president. Vance, on the other hand, is a staunch Trump loyalist, and no elected Republican is voicing concerns — at least publicly — about him.
Trump’s pick underscores the unity Republicans feel at this particular moment. Trump just survived an assassination attempt, Democrats are in crisis over President Joe Biden’s ability to win and Trump is leading in most swing states.
The GOP convention in 2016 was far from a unifying affair. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) caused an uproar when he declined to specifically endorse Trump during his speech, while Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) famously shouted “no” on the convention floor — just to name two examples.
Cruz and Lee are now fully converted, as is nearly every elected Republican nationwide.
From Never Trump to MAGA heir-apparent: Vance’s own personal evolution is a microcosm of the party’s journey over the last decade. When Trump first ran eight years ago, Vance called him “reprehensible” and leveled other sharp criticism. He even once wondered whether Trump was “America’s Hitler.”
Today, Vance is in many ways the face of the MAGA movement on both substance and style. He’s just 39 years old — turning 40 next month — and is now in a prime position to put his mark on the Republican Party.
On policy, Vance checks all the boxes for Trump. He’s a populist conservative with a nationalist, “America First” foreign policy worldview that has drawn the ire of GOP leaders. He’s seen as someone who can connect with white, working-class voters who feel left behind, drawing on his own upbringing chronicled in his memoir “Hillbilly Elegy.”
Stylistically, Vance isn’t afraid to stick his neck out for Trump. Whether it’s defending Trump’s most controversial remarks or attacking the legal system in the wake of Trump’s multiple state and federal indictments, Vance has been the loudest and proudest. He’s also used Senate procedure to his advantage, blocking dozens of nominations on the floor in protest of the Trump prosecutions.
When asked about Trump, other Senate Republicans will dodge, deflect, say they “didn’t see the tweet,” or take a circuitous route to avoid running into reporters. Vance is always eager to fight Trump’s battles in the halls of the Capitol.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said Vance is the “perfect match” for Trump because he brings, among other things, “loyalty” and a “deep respect for working Americans.”
Vance the senator: Vance hasn’t been in office that long — just a year and a half — but he’s already made his mark on the chamber.
Vance fit in right away with the group of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s chief antagonists. Most notably, Vance led the charge against the Ukraine aid package that Congress passed in April, drawing the ire of McConnell and other GOP defense hawks.
The Ohio Republican aligns with Trump and other conservative hardliners — especially in the House — as Ukraine-skeptics. Earlier this year, we traveled to the Munich Security Conference where Vance had his first big foray onto the world stage.
McConnell declined to comment to us last week when asked about the possibility of Vance being selected as Trump’s running mate. McConnell has said his top priority for the rest of his Senate tenure will be to try to root out the very national security doctrine that Vance espouses.
Vance has also bucked the party’s traditional deference to Big Business, having partnered with Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) on a bill to impose new regulations on the railway industry after the Norfolk Southern derailment in their state.
The freshman Republican also linked arms with Democrats on legislation taking aim at credit card companies and bank executives. He’s even praised Biden’s FTC chief.
But there’s a simple reason why you haven’t seen — and probably won’t see — any public waffling or expressions of concern from Republicans about the selection of Vance.
They want to win.
