A wise man once said, “To make no mistakes is not in the power of man, but from their errors and mistakes, the wise and good learn wisdom for the future.”
With this sentiment, consider this a plea for former President Donald Trump to move on from Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH). I write this as someone who supported Trump in 2016 and 2020 and will vote for him in November. But I implore him, please, ditch Vance. It pains me to say this, especially given the Left’s recent attacks, but there is a difference between surrendering to left-wing attacks and acknowledging a political reality. Having Vance as a running mate could legitimately cost Trump the election, as evidenced by recent polls.
Granted, Democrats, the Left, and those in the media would dig up dirt and demonize anyone Trump would choose. So probably all polls would be bad. After all, these are the group of people currently advancing the idea that Trump was not shot during the assassination attempt. So, admittedly, he can do no right in the eyes of his opponents. Trump could select Jesus as his running mate, and Democrats and others on the Left would label him an insurrectionist who destroyed tables in temples and associated with lepers, and as an alcoholic who used water to make wine.
Nevertheless, Vance seems particularly awful.
I have always felt Vance was a poor selection. There were things I liked about him, such as his service in the Marines and his story of going from poverty to the U.S. Senate. His speech at the convention was rather good, even better than Trump’s. I freely admit that it helped change my opinion of him slightly. But the very thing that made me like him more is the exact reason why he is so problematic: his mouth.
Vance brings nothing to Trump’s ticket and does little to expand his base. No independent voter looks at Vance and thinks, “I am going to vote Republican now.” Whereas someone might look at Vance, listen to his previous anti-Trump comments, and agree with them.
As more videos surface of his previous comments criticizing Trump, it is abundantly clear that Vance will do more to harm Trump’s reelection chances than help him, which is one of the vice presidential nominee’s primary political objectives. Much better choices remain.
It’s well known that Vance is on record of being critical of Trump. Such words raise numerous questions about whether Vance changed his mind or is just a political opportunist. His previous comments about Trump are considerably damning.
Having an epiphany and changing one’s mind about someone is one thing. Plenty of people have legitimately done that regarding Trump. It’s another thing entirely to have videos criticizing the former president with rhetoric that rivals notorious opponents such as the Lincoln Project.
From Vance previously labeling himself a Never Trumper to apparently comparing Trump to Hitler, to calling Trump a habitual liar and insinuating that he believed Trump committed sexual assault, Vance was particularly scathing about the former president. I have absolutely no experience in making political ads, but even I could develop one that would be devastating to Trump.
“Even Trump’s running mate thinks he sexually assaulted women.” Roll clip. Repeat on every channel from now until Nov. 5. Boom. Done.
That’s not even taking into consideration Vance’s recently unearthed comments at the center of his latest controversy. Vance is on video being hypercritical of childless women, dubbing them childless cat ladies, and suggesting that people who have children should somehow have more voting power or authority than those who don’t. Trump knows he struggled with the suburban female vote, right?
“When you go to the polls in this country as a parent, you should have more power, you should have more of an ability to speak your voice in our democratic republic than people who don’t have kids,” Vance said. “Let’s face the consequences and the reality. If you don’t have as much of an investment in the future of this country, maybe you shouldn’t get nearly the same voice.”
Hey, everybody, meet J.D. Vance, the pride of Yale Law School, with a winning political strategy! Or, rather, not winning. These comments are just asinine and ignorant. Even George Washington, father of our country, would have taken umbrage with Vance’s words given that he did not have any biological children of his own.
Who vetted this guy, one of Barron Trump’s high school classmates?
Don’t get me wrong, Trump could still conceivably win with Vance as his running mate. After the last month in politics, it’s evident that quite literally anything is possible. However, having him on the ticket, as opposed to, say, someone such as Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), or Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-VA), will make any victory of his much more difficult than it needs to be. And, if Trump does win, it will be despite Vance, not because of him.
Trump has a long, established history of making poor personnel decisions. Vance is arguably the latest one. The former president faces enough resistance and challenges with the everyday rigors and obstacles of a Republican candidate running for president in this country. He is competing against the Democratic political machine, Republicans who dislike him, Hollywood, the left-wing aristocracy, the global network of the political Left, communists, socialists, and all of their accomplices in the legacy media.
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There is no need to have a running mate such as Vance to make it even more challenging. Doing so could cost Trump the election. Denying this reality is a fool’s errand.
Trump should reconsider.