After rocky start, JD Vance finds role as Trump’s ‘policy attack dog’
The Republican vice-presidential contender, by not giving an inch, is embracing his role as a loyalist to the former president.
After a rocky start as the Republican vice-presidential nominee, JD Vance has become Donald Trump’s “policy attack dog” on the campaign trail by borrowing his boss’s playbook of openly sparring with the media and rarely, if ever, apologising for what he says.
In the process, Trump has developed a warm relationship with his running mate, according to people familiar with the matter, despite Vance not initially being Trump’s top choice for the job.
Vance has kept up a rapid pace of campaign rallies, during which he takes questions from reporters as his supporters boo them, as well as appearances on TV shows that often turn feisty. It all doubles as a critique on the tightly controlled campaign of Vice-President Kamala Harris and her No. 2, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, both of whom have limited press interactions.
But the strategy carries risks, which have spilled into public view in recent weeks. The campaign is still dealing with the backlash from falsehoods Vance amplified earlier this month about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. The controversy led to bomb threats and the closure of schools, and brought widespread recriminations from Democrats and other Republicans.
Springfield exemplifies his adoption of a Trumpian political strategy: Never giving an inch. “What they’re doing is trying to shut all of us up, ” Vance told a rally in Sparta, Michigan, last week, speaking of the media’s coverage of the Springfield saga.
Rather than shy away from fallout over his unfounded claims about Haitian migrants eating pets in Springfield, Vance is embracing it. He is betting that even if many Americans frown upon the falsehood, enough voters in swing states will appreciate his willingness to tap into a broader sentiment: that too many migrants are arriving in the US from the southern border.
“They’re trying to say, ‘How dare you citizens of Springfield complain about this migrant inflow’,” he said in Michigan.
The strategy highlights a delicate balancing act he must perfect in a close election: stay aligned with Trump’s message – which often can be a moving target – while not letting missteps overshadow his larger-than-life running mate.
“He’s probably doing what Trump wants, as far as being that combative agent who will go out and mix it up with the media and defend Trump’s policies and personality,” said Marc Short, who served as former vice-president Mike Pence’s chief of staff during Trump’s term in office.
Along the way, Vance has offered Trump the one thing he needs most: unwavering loyalty. For that, Trump has warmed to Vance and overlooked most of his missteps, such as incorrectly saying a few weeks ago that Trump would veto a national abortion ban. Trump even brushed off Vance’s past criticisms against him (he had described Trump as an “idiot” and compared him to Adolf Hitler).
Shortly after Secret Service agents arrested an alleged assassin near Trump’s golf course on September 15, one of Trump’s first calls was to Vance.
Trump’s eldest son, Donald Jr, advocated for Vance to be on the ticket in part because of his youth. There is a nearly 40-year age gap between Trump and his running mate.
The former president said he has no regrets about the pick. “I could not be more pleased,” Trump said in a statement. “The Fake News went after him for about a week, and then gave up, because he was too smart for them.”
Republican Representative Jim Banks campaigned with Vance in Pittsburgh in August. “I did a recent trip with JD and as soon as we got in the car, President Trump was calling to ask how it went,” Banks said.
“There might have been a comment or two that there might have been, perhaps a disagreement, but JD’s not prone to make mistakes. He’s been a net positive for the ticket.”
Banks added that Vance had won over Trump with his non-stop campaigning.
In just a few months, Vance has done more than 75 media appearances, including on all five Sunday political shows and liberal and conservative talk shows, becoming what one campaign official described as Trump’s “policy attack dog”.
Vance’s coming debate with Walz, who has tried to balance an attack-dog role with his folksy Midwestern demeanour, will give Vance a chance to showcase his Trumpian style – and loyalty to the former president – on a national stage.
Vance has at times struggled to find his footing, in part because he is relatively new to politics, said Republican consultant Alex Conant, a White House spokesman during George W. Bush’s second term and former aide to Florida senator Marco Rubio. Vance won his first campaign in 2022, when he was elected to the Senate.
“This was a big step for Vance, and it shows,” Conant said.
Conant also said Vance’s strategy of doubling-down on Springfield was misplaced. “They want to make immigration the top issue in this election, but engaging in conspiracy theories just makes them sound crazy,” he said.
Vance jets around the country on a chartered Trump campaign plane dubbed Trump Force 2, along with his newly assigned Secret Service detail.
Sometimes when Vance took questions over the past week, the crowd would boo a reporter because of the outlet or the question. Vance occasionally would try to tame them.
Vance is also learning that it isn’t easy being Trump’s No.2. Trump’s off-kilter remarks and controversial entourage have often concerned even some of his outspoken supporters. His running mate often has to answer for those remarks, such as last week when Vance was asked to defend Trump’s recent engagements with conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer.
She recently remarked that the White House would “smell like curry” if Harris were to win the election. Harris’s mother was originally from India, and Vance’s wife is of Indian descent.
Vance, when appearing on the Sunday shows a week ago, said that while he didn’t like Loomer’s comments, he didn’t think the media should be focused on them.
In a twist, Vance has forced Trump to answer for someone other than himself, too. When Trump was asked about some of Vance’s comments that proved to be distractions when he first joined the ticket – such as his resurfaced 2021 “childless cat ladies” comment that went viral – Trump joked that the role of the running mate isn’t that important. He also publicly defended women who don’t have children and said it didn’t matter to him whether people decide to have children or not.
When Trump debated Harris, he said he had never discussed with his running mate what he would do if an abortion ban crossed his desk as president – when asked about Vance’s recent comments that Trump would veto such a measure. Vance later told NBC that “I’ve learned my lesson” on speaking for Trump.
In some ways, Vance and Harris have travelled a similar journey. Harris, who laid out a string of left-leaning positions during her 2020 presidential campaign, fell in line with President Joe Biden’s more moderate views when she joined his ticket. When asked about that parallel, Vance didn’t dispute that his own views on issues such as abortion were to the right of Trump’s.
“Nobody agrees with any person on every single issue,” Vance said. “There’s nothing wrong with changing your mind in this country, but when you change your mind, you ought to explain to the American people why.”
Vance added: “[Trump] is the leader of this party, and he sets the agenda.”
While rallygoers this past week said they were largely voting Republican because of Trump, some said they appreciated having a young candidate on the ticket. Some said Vance could lead the GOP and the MAGA movement when Trump is no longer the party standard-bearer. If Trump wins, Vance would be the first millennial vice-president.
Short, the former Pence aide, said choosing Vance shows Trump “wants to take the party into a more populist frame at the expense of conservative policies”.
Tommy Stephens, a retired engineer from Raleigh who attended Vance’s rally on Wednesday, said Vance was “young enough to move us forward”. At the conservative Faith and Freedom Coalition dinner in Atlanta last Monday, Vance explained how a future Trump administration might invest in women, especially pregnant mothers who might be considering an abortion.
“It’s especially scary when a pregnancy is unplanned, but we are going to support mothers and children,” he said, pledging new investments in counselling, job training and pregnancy care centres, among other things.
Trump supporters have praised his ability to break down policy in an engaging way.
“He’ll be able to objectively spit out what Donald Trump means – sort of an interpreter,” Amy Werner, a registered nurse from Menomonie, Wisconsin, said during Vance’s visit to the state. “He’s a good reiner-in of the Donald Trump flight of ideas.”
The Wall Street Journal
