National Review, at least in this article, is negative about the Vance pick:
Vance. I hate that asshole. But he’ll clinch the hillbilly vote.
Exactly.
Lincoln famously did not grow a beard until he was running for president in 1860 at the age of 51…
Google searches for frenulum must have had a big spike.
Worth saying that for an average US man who is 79 years old now, he has about a 27% chance of death over the next four years and a life expectancy of 8 years. Does this make Vance look better or worse?
Vance openly wants a dictatorship, so…
I think that’s getting carried away, if only because the VP pick has at most a minor impact on the outcome of the election. He’s no Sarah Palin where it was obvious to all near and far that she was in over her head. He’s smart and will have no trouble modulating his message to the needs of the campaign (and simply walking away from any past statements that may conflict). I don’t think he’s going to make much difference to an election that will be determined by forces much larger than him.
WHAT?
I’ve always had trouble understanding why geography would be so important…
“Gee, I’d vote for Trump, but only if his VP was from a state less than three states away from mine. Issues? Character? Nope. I just care if I can drive to their hometown in a day.”
They will throw him a bone like Secretary of Education then order him to destroy the department.
Because of his book? He was a VC in San Francisco making a ton of money before he wrote that. He also set up a fake non-profit in Ohio to grift the rubes.
He’s not a hillbilly himself. He doesn’t even pretend to talk like the hoi polloi. Trump already had the deplorables wrapped up, so what can Vance add?
I’m surprised but not shocked. Not shocked because I just knew trump was going to chose the worst one. Surprised because I thought trump would recognize the avarice in Vance. If I was trump, I wouldn’t take any unwrapped burgers from that fella.
When I see beards like his, or Don Jr’s, my mind immediately jumps to the Commanders in The Handmaid’s Tale. I suppose some like that kind of look, but it could backfire with women voters. If he keeps it, it’s a signal of a sort.
It will have about as negative an impact as it possibly can, so I think it’s actually a pretty big gift. He not only does the ticket no good; he will be very, very easy to use in campaign materials. And instead of deflecting from the Trump brand of crazy and odious, he magnifies it. What could be worse for the fascist party in this case?!
Any MAGAite makes Palin look like an altruistic, caring, fun-loving figure with a positive vision for America’s future. Vance is just plain threatening in the way that Bannon, Gorka, and Miller are.
Hahaha, he called Trump “America’s Hitler” and went into detail about how he hated and despised the fucker. You can’t modulate away from that!
I actually think the difference will be palpable and significant. I feel much better about the election today than I did yesterday.
Oh, and my friend just pointed out that Vance’s wife is Indian. So more leverage in the campaign re racism, birthright citizenship, etc. etc. E.g., “Your own wife is Indian, so how can you support so much xenophobic shit, dumbfuck?!?!”
As already noted there is no reason to believe Vance will automatically help in these states.
And just to note, Illinois outside of the Chicago metro area is already solidly red. Problem is, 2/3 of the population lives in the Chicago metro area.
Worse, I would think. He’s a pup.
He’s not yet 40 and has two years in the Senate. Is that the right person to take over if Trump dropped dead? This is a Quayle/Palin type pick.
Agreed.
Is his wife here legally? Because that card could just as easily work the other way. MAGAs often say “We aren’t against immigration, we’re against ILLEGAL immigration.” (Whether they actually mean this or not is a different question.)
So if the Ds use that argument against Vance, I could imagine it being flipped back instantly.
In fact, many of the people in America who oppose illegal immigration the most are non-white people who came here legally.
You’re assuming they’re logical or consistent about it. If they were, then they’d want Trump’s wife deported.