Guy Benson
@guypbenson
Thoughts: Vance is highly intelligent, served our country in uniform with great distinction, and has a wonderful young family. His bestselling memoir was searing, vulnerable, and insightful. His experiences, some painful and difficult, will resonate with many Americans.
Politically, I…don’t love it. Committed Trump fans are loving the choice, but Trump already has a hyped up, highly motivated base in his column no matter what, especially after this weekend. I’m not sure if a voter exists who was conflicted on Trump but is motivated or reassured by Vance as the pick. I don’t see a tent expansion here. Trump may not need that, but he might.
Vance is very young (my age), just joined the Senate last year (having notably underperformed other Ohio R’s on the ticket), and has little-to-no executive experience. He’s from the same “wing” of the party as Trump, after defecting from the opposite wing, in a number of ways.
Is he a plausible POTUS on day one? Critics will go after that question (of course on the other side, they’ve got an unpopular Harris) & will also highlight some of Vance’s quotes over recent years— both about Trump himself and a few hot button issues. It’s Trump’s choice alone, of course, and he may feel like the pick doesn’t really matter much. His supporters will say to trust Trump’s judgment on this. We’ll see if voters agree, or react in any significant way to this at all. Trump has doubled down on populism/base politics here. I don’t see it as the most advantageous pick for him politically, but it is what it is.
The Left will be eager to define Vance in as negative a light as possible, asap. Vance will need to introduce himself to America in a compelling way. As I said, he’s very smart and can be quite impressive in interviews. Let’s see how he performs moving forward, starting on Wednesday night. Huge platform, huge opportunity.
2:47 PM · Jul 15, 2024
