DALLAS – JD Vance delivered the speech of his life on Thursday evening, weaving together the death of Charlie Kirk and the birth of his new son to deliver a powerful personal narrative and a coherent political philosophy.
It may be the moment he clinched the Republican nomination for 2028.
He spoke movingly of the death of his friend and his hopes for his new son, Alec, before warning of what Democrats wanted to do to God-fearing families in America.
“And so to the radicals who wish to abolish my family or any other, we have a simple message: Stay the hell away from my kids,” he said in the most powerful portion of the speech.
The day already felt like a coming-out party for Vance’s presidential ambitions, even if he has yet to declare a run.
Vance spent the morning wooing delegates with a series of private appearances, raising at least $2 million for the Republican National Committee. Donald Trump even promised to cut his own remarks short, a sign that this was to be Vance’s day.
When the time came, the vice president met the moment.
A man known for his prowess on Fox News, his nerdy love for Lord of the Rings, his Silicon Valley bro-network, his contempt for “childless cat ladies,” and all-around MAGA machismo, spent 39 minutes setting out a very different side to his life.
The pivot was outrage at how a Democrat in Michigan had said, “eff the nuclear family.”
“It is in the nuclear family where I watch my 4-year-old little girl beg to feed a bottle to her baby brother,” he said. “Where Alec’s older siblings witnessed the wonder, just a couple of weeks ago, of a beautiful baby’s first smile.”
The speech is his “Letter to Alec” moment. A personal message to his son and to his three other children, setting out all his hopes and dreams for the next generation of his family.
Everything stems from there, the importance of protecting jobs for Americans, creating safe neighborhoods, lowering drug prices — Trump administration achievements that he ticked off one by one.
He contrasted with Democrats, which he described as a party of “hatred.”
“Let’s send these lunatics packing,” he said.
The crowd knew what they were seeing. “JD 48,” they chanted, anointing him as Trump’s heir and successor.
Vance may yet not have it quite all his own way.
Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) has been opening up some clear ground between himself and MAGA candidates by setting out his skepticism of tariffs, for example, in case the Trump project sours with voters.
He gave a polished speech, mixing big picture thoughts on Islamism, 9/11, and the Kirk shooting, with attacks on the Democratic Party’s policies of hate. All that was missing at the end was “Go to Ted Cruz2028.com.”
And then there were occasional reminders that the absent Marco Rubio has been riding a wave for the past year.
Robert Amorello said he would back Vance if he was the nominee but that Rubio was more presidential in bearing and manner. Not for him the curse words of Vance, who he said had a bit of a chip on his shoulder.
“I don’t know if I want a president with a chip on his shoulder,” said the lawyer from Massachusetts.
But most of the attendees at this Trumpapalooza lined up naturally behind Vance.
Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project, summed up Vance’s position: “JD understands that the fate of America is tied to the fate of America.”
Vance knew his role. While much of the coverage of his primetime speech will focus on what it means for 2028, Vance made clear there were other battles in the immediate future.
“We got to send a message this November,” Vance said, continuing his theme of birthright. “This country was handed down to us by our parents and their parents before them.”
“We received this national birthright, and we are going to fight for it by electing Republicans this November.”
Trump knew what he had just witnessed when he appeared on stage at the end of the evening. He couldn’t follow that. He asked the crowd if they wanted some music.
“We’re gonna have a good time listening to music because I’m getting a little bit tired of politics,” he said.
The runners and riders
Vance wasn’t the only 2028 hopeful to address the convention. This is how the other potential candidates (and a couple of wildcards) shaped up with speeches during the convention:
Ted Cruz 9/10: He’s done this before. His speech began by setting up a framework around Kirk’s death and the anniversary of 9/11 before using it to pick apart Islamism, the politics of hate, and the Democratic Party’s extreme wing. He was wildly popular with this Texas crowd and may even have unveiled a campaign slogan with his promise to “Save America.”
Karoline Leavitt 8/10: OK. She’s not running. Is she even old enough to be president? But she got the reception of the night and the crowd lapped up lines such as: “It feels much better speaking to a stadium of patriots than a briefing room of journalists.” The nomination could be hers one day.
RFK Jr 7/10: “My uncle ran on a platform of tax cuts and fighting communism,” he said. “Does that sound familiar?” Brought the Kennedy sparkle along with a killer way to lampoon today’s Democrats as not his uncle’s party. Already a MAGA favorite, his MAHA points landed well, even if he almost forgot to mention the midterm elections.
Marco Rubio 7/10: If you think the convention was fake, nothing but a money grab, and that proximity to Trump is a campaign death wish, then maybe the Secretary of State had the right approach. He spent the time nowhere near Dallas, instead battling drug cartels in Latin America. A pretty decent statement of intent, although, as Secrets readers know, he has little intention of running.
Greg Abbott 5/10: As governor of Texas, he hammered his role in securing the border. It is a decent record to run on. But his delivery would have been better suited to a pre-Trump age when people listened to your policies. He was not loud enough for this crowd.
Scott Bessent 1/10: A long-shot contender became a longer-shot contender. The treasury secretary came out to a rock star reception and then took the temperature right down by stumbling over words in a monotone. He has the ego for the presidency, but not the presence or taste for rally crowds.
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