After voters commented that the debate was more of a presidential debate than the actual presidential debate, it’s clear that Senator JD Vance poses a danger for Donald Trump, an unhealthy 78-year-old candidate facing sentencing for his 34 felony convictions.
“(F)rom a group of Trump-to-Biden voters after last night’s debate: JD Vance was competent and well-spoken, but people aren’t sure if they trust him (or Trump). They thought Walz was okay, but clearly out of his comfort zone. People REALLY liked how comparatively normal the debate seemed: “More of a presidential debate than the presidential debate,” Sarah Longwell, a long-time Republican strategist who is the publisher of the Bulwark and runs focus groups, shared.
We should note that voters liked the “comparatively” normality of the debate. The man attacking childless cat ladies and lying about his own constituents to the point that the schools in that district had to close due to bomb threats is not normal and we shouldn’t pretend otherwise.
Voters have routinely said this about vice presidential debates, which have notably been contrasted with presidential debates destroyed by Trump’s Gish galloping lies, gaslighting, and generally rhetorical and sometimes physical thuggery.
The Bulwark wrote (note this is a conservative take), “I doubt Vance did anything meaningful to help Trump’s electoral prospects. But he absolutely helped his own prospects for 2028, or 2032, or whenever Trump
leaves the scene. Or gets pushed.”
Exactly.
And more, “In fact, Vance was so good that I wonder if this debate might become a case of catastrophic success. Because tomorrow a whole bunch of people in Conservatism Inc. are going to be talking about how Vance is the post-Trump savior they’ve been waiting for.
I wonder what Donald Trump will think about that?”
Yes, this. JD Vance is the fascist who can’t pull it off in person, but does really well when slickness counts more than authentic connection. To this point, Last thinks JD Vance won the debate, and while I agree that he managed to come off much better than he does when interacting with real people, he disqualified himself by refusing to say he’d certify an election Trump lost and meanwhile, Tim Walz gave Americans the dose of actual normal and down-to-earth realness they’ve been craving after eight years of Trump.
If we are giving Vance this debate, it’s because he lied about a lot of stuff and hid the really creepy things he says on conservative podcasts. But still, he also refused to say Trump lost 2020 and this reveals a man with no courage.
Voters in a CNN instant poll said there was no clear winner, and that rings true. There was no clear winner, but one candidate did disqualify himself.
But in MAGA world and in the conservative world, is Vance the winner they want? Is he, with his two years of experience, a man easily used by the elites, but in a better, younger package than Trump? Maybe.
Of course, Vance can’t get to the White House on his own. Vance is more unpopular than Sarah Palin.
When Trump sees the reaction to Vance being so much better than the reaction to his own debate, will he be able to stop himself from punishing Vance? Trump shows little discipline over his emotions, so this is unlikely. But he needs Vance to perform well to get to the White House, so maybe he will figure out how to neuter Vance after the election if they win.
Vance will do what Pence would not, which is overthrow the will of the people and pretend Trump won an election he lost without question. Vance is Project 2025 without the chaos and disruption of Trump, something Vance managed to hide from the public last night.
But it begs the question, if the elites behind Project 2025 and the Republican Party want their post-liberal, anti-democratic agenda enacted, Vance is their guy. It’s not a stretch to consider they are using Trump for his populism and charisma, in order to install the Trojan Horse of JD Vance.
