Donald Trump has chosen his running mate, and the announcement came on the first day of the RNC. Traditionally – not that any of this is traditional – the running mate announcement would have happened long before the RNC, because it would have gifted the Trump campaign with at least 72 hours of media coverage. It’s hilarious because Trump is too much of a narcissist to let anyone pull focus AND he was also too lazy to give this any kind of real consideration. Well, it was never going to be Nikki Haley or Tim Scott, but I thought there was a decent chance Trump would pick my state’s governor, Glenn Youngkin. The reason why Trump passed on Youngkin is probably because Youngkin is an idiot who can’t get anything done – his MAGA agenda is dying on the vine because Virginians made sure that Democrats took back control of the state house and senate last year. Still, I was worried, because Virginia really is a purple state now and it would have been a huge mess.
So who did Trump choose? J.D. Vance, the author of Hillbilly Elegy and Ohio’s junior senator. Vance won his Senate seat in 2022 – he’s barely been in DC for a year and a half. I barely paid attention to the Hillbilly Elegy mess, but I know that a lot of genuine Appalachians were mad about how Vance (an outsider from the Ohio suburbs) lied and tried to claim their stories as his own and twist their stories to a reductive and racist narrative. Vance is currently known as one of the most craven political operators in the modern Republican era. Circa 2016, Vance was loudly anti-Trump, criticizing Trump in multiple interviews and even referring to Trump as “America’s Hitler.” Then Vance quickly figured out the scam, and he changed his tune when he realized that the only way to run as a Republican is to supplicate oneself to America’s Hitler.
Something I find sort of exciting is the fact that Vance has a lengthy history of saying wildly misogynistic things and taking deeply anti-woman, anti-choice stances. This is true of Donald Trump as well, but the media shows no interest in focusing on an adjudicated rapist, serial predator and good friend of Jeffrey Epstein. But Vance’s entrance on the national stage will hopefully be the jolt this election cycle needed, because this election is (imo) fundamentally about women and women’s rights. I need women to take a good hard look at Vance and his history. I can tell the Biden campaign is excited about this too – I’ve already gotten a dozen campaign emails where they’re amplifying the sh-t out Vance’s own words.
Also, just a reminder: Donald Trump encouraged (incited) his unhinged cult members to hunt down and hang his last vice president.
Fox host to Trump VP contender JD Vance: You said you never liked Trump, called him a ‘terrible candidate,’ said you’re an ‘idiot if you voted for him,’ called him ‘America’s Hitler,’ a ‘cynical a**hole,’ and more pic.twitter.com/2TjoNWqNsR
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) June 18, 2024
JD Vance says women should stay in violent marriages “for the sake of their kids” pic.twitter.com/zqM15Aqhvm
— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) July 15, 2024
JD Vance is against no-fault divorce, supports a national abortion ban, and voted against IVF access.
He wants the government in people's lives and dictating decisions they can make for themselves, their health, and their families. pic.twitter.com/yeZSGI3VCa https://t.co/rgyvjwlEYu
— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) July 15, 2024
Photos courtesy of Cover Images.
-
- 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland. Featuring: J.D. Vance Where: National Harbor, Maryland, United States When: 02 Mar 2023 Credit: Ron Sachs/CNP/startraksphoto.com/Cover Images
-
- 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland. Featuring: J.D. Vance Where: National Harbor, Maryland, United States When: 02 Mar 2023 Credit: Ron Sachs/CNP/startraksphoto.com/Cover Images
-
- 2024 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Featuring: United States Senator JD Vance (Republican of Ohio) Where: Oxon Hill, Maryland, United States When: 23 Feb 2024 Credit: POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
-
- 2024 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). Featuring: United States Senator JD Vance (Republican of Ohio) Where: Oxon Hill, Maryland, United States When: 23 Feb 2024 Credit: POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
“Hillbilly Elegy”
Not surprised that a right-winger hates poor people and insults them.
Apparently there are Tweets proving that he was very anti-Trump before
That means nothing. Many Republicans weren’t and then jumped on the Trump bandwagon and tried to emulate Trump in many ways and kiss Trump’s MAGA ass. He’s one of them.
He was anti-Trump, but so were a lot of people who have since kissed the ring, so to speak.
He called orange American Hitler. But, money talks, I assume. Vile creatures.
Vance scares me because he knows how to act like a normal person.
Speaking of which, what’s Lindsey Graham up to these days?
His appointment makes sense as it may be Trumps concession to the moderate GOP arm of the party.
And that is why his appointment is also bad news for Democrats….
I have relatives who proudly identified as “hillbilly,” so I don’t think it’s the insult you think it is.
He’s financed by Peter Thiel, the man who wants to bring fascism to the USA, working with Elon Musk. Vance is not a moderate, he is farther right wing than Trump. He wants a national abortion ban, no exceptions for rape or incest, he wants to get rid of no fault divorce, social security, and has said that women should stay in violent marriages for the sake of the kids, instead of “switching marriages like switching underwear.” He’s vile.
His appointment may be very good news for Dems, if women are paying attention to the reality,
Entitled, wealthy, wall-street douche bro pretending to know something about poor people and wanting to control every aspect of women’s lives. Massive flip-flopper who wouldn’t know honor if it slapped him in the face.
Massively on brand for republicants.
Vote, people. This misogynistic douchebro owned by the two IMMIGRANT billionaires Musk and Thiel who are actively and with large amounts of money trying to destroy our democracy cannot be one (better) shot away from the presidency.
@Agnes 💯 And he’s only 39 years old so with his extreme and problematic stances towards women’s rights, he can and will do a lot of damage. His recent willingness to bend the knee to 45 tells me all I need to know.
Plus, he’s totally Pro-Putinist Russia/Anti-NATO & Ukraine.
This guy only helps the democrats since there’s so much ammunition to use against him, not just his own stance but his words about trump. Literally no one likes him! Also, on a petty note, I thought that looking at trump and Pence’s face for 4 years was awful but this guy has the most obnoxious face I have ever seen.
in addition to being a misogynist and Putin supporter, he’s also a white supremacist and antisemite (my guess is he’s probably Islamophobic as well)
This!
The guy most likely to do anything his new boss wants with a smile. Not sure whether this will help swing Ohio his way – Florida and North Dakota were already his, so from that standpoint this might have made more sense than Rubio or Burgham.
Burgum. The copy desk regrets the error.
Ohio is no longer a swing state (if it ever was). Both Hillary and Biden lost it by eight points. So from that standpoint, it’s a wasted pick.
The people pointing out that he’s owned by Thiel and Musk and that his wife clerked for Roberts & Kavanaugh make this make more sense. It’s about the money and power he can help hand over. {Sigh.}
I think this will help the democrats. There were many moderate democrats that were on the fence but this jerk is so anti-woman and extreme that moderate democrats will vote democrat again
His lawyer wife has clerked for Chief Justice Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh so Trump may have some intent there.
The media won’t cover Vance or Trump with the seriousness they deserve. Instead, they will treat this like it is a sports game, move the window, and normalize anti-democratic rhetoric.
@OriginalMich Most of the major news networks’ owners are Trump donors so 45 being re-elected is ratings gold, which means more money for them. This includes MSNBC, who took Morning Joe off the air yesterday bc they were afraid of what Joe might have said about the shooting. It’s why they amplify every mistake Biden makes and ignores 45’s erratic behavior cognitive decline and (until it began widely circulating on SM) his evil Project 2025.
I agree. I’ve watched a few different networks and listened to NPR in past few days, and the takes are so bad. It’s like everyone is afraid to say anything negative about Trump or the Republicans in the wake of Saturday’s events. I don’t think true journalists should be reporting on the Republican messaging with any kind of earnestness right now. Or acting like Trump or Melania are writing these statements being put out on social media. It’s so damaging!
Vance is Peter Thiel’s favorite toy and that’s the reason why he was picked. Thiel has money and Dump needs it.
IDK I think its more the fact that he’s besties with Trump Jr.
Trump doesn’t care what his idiot sons think. They aren’t Ivanka.
I’ve long thought that Trump’s pick would be Vance — although I did wonder if Vance would manage to seem obsequious enough to convince Trump that he wouldn’t be a threat. I’m numb with the awfulness of this choice. My hope — well, the one that won’t get me banned — is that Vance won’t actually extend Trump’s current appeal, and that women will actually pay close attention to the realities that Vance, Thiel, and Trump have in mind for them, their daughters, and their granddaughters. Every vote matters, particularly in the swing states and the states with outsized power thanks to the electoral college.
If everyone who is eligible to vote actually does vote, we’ve got this.
I actually love this pick. Just another white man who knows nothing about nothing and wants to shove all women back to the 1850s. By November, sane women are going to hate Vance as much as they hate Trump. And there are a lot of us. 😎 To me, the scariest pick would have been Nicki Haley.
Yeah, Haley has enough low cunning to have really done some damage. But Vance…it looks like Trump is firing up the base (because the Repub. internal polling must be disastrous), in the hopes of getting a deadlocked election that will be tossed to the Supremes.
I remember you predicting this nom @blithe! I thought the smarter move would have been niki Haley just bc it might get trump female voters or never trumpers. I don’t think trump would actually have gone for her though.
I am always amazed by people supporting anti abortion but not able to protect living children by passing gun laws.
It’s actually very simple… anti-choice laws are ONLY about controlling women, not protecting children.
Yes Lucille, all about controlling women, not men. Men are still free to buy Viagra, condoms and have vasectomies.
I am amazed that so many men are eager to pay child support for unwanted babies. It’s male sperm that causes all these problems. The need to have unprotected sex.
I spent my early childhood in Appalachia and still summer there. I read his book and felt gaslit the entire time. It is definitely an outsider’s take. If you read the book he has issues with his mother which may be the cause of his misogyny, but he lionized his grandmother so who knows. Vance adds nothing to the ticket but another giant head bloated with fascism and Trump already has that covered. I hope the real working class voters to whom he is trying to appeal are smart enough to see through his bs.
@ Aang I was waiting for the actual Appalachians to come out like they did after white coastal liberals fell all over themselves praising Hillbilly Elegy!
Please please expose this condescending white supremacist Yalie. Strip all his unearned credibility away!
Black coastal progressive here — if white coastal liberals praised this book, then they didn’t read the second half. The first part was relatively well and sensitively written. The second part was openly a clumsy political screed.
As for the Yalie part, I think he just went to the law school, so maybe there are some lawyers among us who can help here?
Hehe @Blithe I am a Black progressive lawyer 🙂 but I don’t understand how a legal perspective is relevant here?
@Oh come on, you asked for someone to “please expose this condescending white supremacist Yalie”. Yale law school is not that big, so my poorly worded request was a hope that there might be lawyers here who either know/ knew Vance, or who know someone who can do some “exposing”.
So: Anyone reading this who was at YLS in the early 2010’s?
Oh! @Blithe re “expose,” I wasn’t thinking of his time at YLS. I was thinking about Appalachian discourse debunking his book as condescending fiction from a Cincinnati suburbanite who wasn’t part of their culture at all..
Iirc there was an invigorating round of tearing a strip off him that happened when the book was popular—I meant I was hoping they’ll come after him again just as fiercely this time 🤗
@ Oh come on — I took your comments in a completely different direction from what you intended. I very much appreciate your kind and informative responses! Since his book and the movie version have been a critical factor in Vance’s rise to prominence, I join you in hoping that his politically useful fictions get vigorously debunked by those in a position to do so.
My curiosity about the possibility that fellow YLS students might have some useful insights to share was rewarded this morning when I saw this article:
https://abovethelaw.com/2024/07/jd-vances-yale-law-school-classmates-trying-to-derail-his-political-career/
While I read it with great interest — and a few audible cheers, I’m also disheartened by what politics and governing have become.
My husband had to read Hillbilly Elegy AND White Rage for one of his college courses and he said the contrast was really notable.
Ironically, Vance is really enamored with the “Victim Culture” that his party so derides.
Oh, I might do the same reading!
Sure, he praises the grandma. Easy because (I assume) she’s no longer alive. His mother was a trip, though. Wow.
I read his book thinking maybe it would be a representative voice for those who identify as hillbillies. Boy was i wrong. He does start out with some interesting information, but then the conclusions he reaches are so dismissive and wrong-headed, that I was irate on behalf of all hillbillies everywhere. Basically, he worked hard to get out of a low-income situation, and that is very impressive. But, then instead of owning his background and trying to make a difference, he completely adopted the worst elitist attitudes that exist, likely to “fit in” with his new out-of-touch rich friends. He threw his own people under the bus. He blames them for not only all of their own problems, but for the problems of others, i.e. the country at large. What an *#$. Hopefully enough low-income people know this, and will be repulsed.
Please vote!
Trump chose Vance and is sending a crystal clear message that he doesn’t want any “adults in the room.” This time around. Vance is incredibly trumpian. Trump is absolutely connected to Project 2025. He’s hust been made sympathetic by being shot, but his politics remain horrifying! Please vote!
I thought it was going to be Marco Rubio. Whew! I am so glad it isn’t. Trump/Republicans are gaining more Latino voters, not just in Florida, and I did not want his pick to be Marco.
The guy wears eye liner, I’m surprised Trump wants anything to do with him. Or is he the condition on the $45m Muskrat is giving trump a month?
Since Muskrat was mentioned, can we please boycott Twitter / X until after November? It could curtail his generosity to the Trump / Vance ticket..
Musk doesn’t GAF how much money he loses on Twitter, so boycotting that hellhole only further silences the remaining voices of reason.
I knew as soon as Vance blamed the shooting on Biden he was a lock for VP.
I am born and raised in Southeastern Kentucky, so the heart of Appalachia. Unfortunately this is die hard MAGA territory. On Facebook countless people I know were talking about how they would not vote for Trump with Vance on the ticket. People in this region despise JD Vance.
I am baffled by this pick because it does nothing to expand Trump’s base. If anything there are places it will shrink his support.
So I legit think that Trump likes his last name. Vance isn’t that far off from Pence and I think Trump likes how the names sound together – Trump/PeNCE Trump/VaNCE.
I know this sounds asinine but this is trump we’re talking about so i honestly think somewhere along the line he decided Trump/Vance sounded better than Trump/Rubio.
Vance is Thiel’s puppet.
Trump wants Thiel’s money.
Therefore, Trump picked Vance to make Thiel happy.
It’s as simple as that.
Unfortunately, I think that in addition to possibly liking the name and having access to more money, Trump saw him as 1. More extreme than the other two, 2. His wife is an intelligent POC who might bring in voters that he has difficulty accessing (my far East Asian family members like her), and 3. He and Biden are being accused of being too old: Vance is just shy of 40.
Blue Nails Betty — Vance is not only Thiel’s puppet, he’s also very Pro-Putin, so we know he’s also the Kremlin’s top choice. Ukraine will cease to exist if these two win.
@Becks1.
I thought it was about Vance’s last name too. But because Trump is all about media and a TrumpVance or TV ticket for a TV nation would be something he might love.
A nation of Dugger and Honey Boo Boo fans and small state electoral college power gave us Trump the first time.
And yeah Comey putting his thumb on the scale.
@stormyshay — that’s great to know! I’ve long wondered what it would take to put a dent in someone’s support for Trump.
Just want to add that I concur that Vance adds nothing to the ticket. Even within the party, I’ve heard that neither the Reaganite faction that initially favored Nikki Haley nor the really extreme faction of MAGA liked him as a pick. He screams toadie, but anyone who understands Trump knows he wants subservience and no one to outshine him.
I’m glad to hear that people there despise him. I read the book right when 45 was elected and was disappointed by how it’s just a single story about his experience, very dismissive of the multitude of voices he could have profiled that never left Appalachia. Of course, now I regret having spent $ on the book.
@ Stormyshay I hope your Appalachian relatives remember their anger at Hillbilly Elegy on Election Day! I remember how angry a lot of Appalachian folks on Twitter were when white coastal liberals were falling all over themselves to “understand” the “economic anxiety” they thought Vance was translating for them 🤢
I am SO glad to hear that Appalachia dislikes Vance. They should. His book completely throws them under the bus.
Amen. I suspect Trump was going for the Thiel/Musk vote, here.
I tried to read the book years ago before he went into politics (someone loaned it to me). It was just boring and self-absorbed. Didn’t understand all the hype around it.
Same here @Brassy. I got it when it was being hyped Everywhere.
About a quarter of the book was good and the rest was absolute garbage.
Good old Rupert must be muttering to himself. He did everything but beg Trump NOT to pick Vance.
Now, I’m waiting to hear how the convention reacts when he and his wife go on stage with the Trumps. I don’t think many know his wife is a POC . They might know she’s a lawyer etc but haven’t gotten a look-see. (She’s said to be far smarter than he.)
I already saw some racist tweets (via r/LeopardsAteMyFace subreddit) about his wife and kids.
This guy is bad news and apparently sold his soul to be the VP pick. He’s going to play the veteran card – speaking as a veteran myself, I don’t care for him even if he did serve. I also read that he thinks people who are childless shouldn’t have as much say in our democracy as people who have kids. WTH?
Besides the fact he’s a born-again Catholic, who wants to outlaw abortion, marriage equality and roll back women’s rights to the early 20th century…vote blue, our lives depend on it.
To your first sentence, some say “opportunistic” but I say GRIFTER. I don’t even think he believes half the incendiary shit he says but he’s done a great job of riding the crazy train straight into a political career. Dems need to drill down on the fact that he’s just as dangerous as Trump. Because there are folks out there who don’t know much about him beyond the book he wrote and think that he’s much more moderate than he actually is.
Orange doesn’t believe any of it either.
Heads up Canadians – he’s got ties to our Conservatives too.
Hear, hear, Elaine! Imo Canadian voters are too complacent by half about today’s Conservative Party. Like Scheer, Poilievre shares policy advisers with DeSantis and other frightening Republicans.
Please. Enough of this. Canadian politics are not USA politics. Completely different environments. And Canadians are not stupid to need fear mongering.
All Trump heard was he wrote a book about Hillbillies. And Hillbillies like Trump so that was good enough for the VP slot.
It’s no different, when Trump was bragging about Jim ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis. And liked the nickname and thought he would have some attack dog at his command. When he is anything but that and hated that nickname.
All Trump cares about is optics and having some splashy image to throw out to his dunderhead party.
Vote and help get others to vote. I volunteer for Postcards to Voters who works with specific campaigns to send handwritten postcards to voters asking them yo vote for a candidate. They’ve also run campaigns to get voters to register for vote by mail and abortion rights measures in OH and KY. All you need is legible handwriting, postcards, and stamps.
We’re going to need every vote possible to push back the maggats up and down the bal!ot.
I just signed up and got approved! It’s something to do to help, and I think it’s more effective than phone banking.
I remember when “Hillbilly Elegy” came out. I was excited to read it because I was an American Studies major and it seemed right up my alley. But I found it disappointing. It was more of a personal memoir than a portrait of a region, and it was not-so-subtly denigrating to the people who live there, including his own mother. I didn’t understand why it got so much praise. My sister read it and said she wanted to throw it at the wall.
Then Vance started popping up on news shows as a pundit and I grew to dislike him. And that was BEFORE he ran for Senate. Now I loath him.
I guess the good news is that he is on record calling the people of Ohio and Kentucky lazy and borderline worthless. The fact that he flip-flopped on Trump won’t bother his potential voters, but his condescending tone very well might. I know Ohio and Kentucky won’t go to Biden, but plenty of working class people in places like Pennsylvania and Virginia could take offense too. As they should.
IMO it will be important to amplify all the things Vance has said about Appalachia, women and his world view. His book gained attention because he talked about the mess of his own family and Appalachians in general. If Ukraine loses, the war really expands. Isolationism sounds a lot easier than it is.
This is bad for the Democrats. I think Vance’s age will appeal to younger, independent voters. This election feels over.
And before anyone come at me with any “you sound like a Trump supporter” nonsense – I’m voting for the Democrat, no matter who it is. But I’m going to, anyway. I was always going to – my vote is not the issue here – it’s people like my kids, who are voting in their first election, who don’t know how bad Trump can be and just see two old men at the top of the ticket. Vance and his beautiful wife and their cute young family legitimize Trump’s crazy.
This is bad.
See, I disagree. Pretty much the unanimous response yesterday to this was that this is a huge win for Democrats. One of the things that helps us is that Vance can’t keep his mouth shut and he loves a camera, so there’s lots of tape of him saying vile things and putting his horrible agenda out there.
Some of the things he has said about abortion and divorce are not going to play well even with younger voters (maybe ESPECIALLY with younger voters.)
I mean my kids are 12 and 9 and they fully understand how bad Trump can be.
I really, really hope you’re right and I’m wrong.
@mcmmom me too, lol.
I just don’t think this moves the needle much. I think if anything, it might energize Dems because he truly is terrible and he’s young, so if something happens to Trump in office, we may get two more terms of President Vance which is horrifying. But I dont think a lot of people who were anti trump before are now going to be like “okay yay so he picked this hateful pathetic man who isn’t even consistent with his own beliefs, so now we’ll vote for him.”
I mean, no he’s not going to sway folks who are anti-Trump but those aren’t the folks that Trump is trying to get with this nom.
Look, Vance worked with Sen Warren on bi-partisan legislation to reduce bonuses from bank executives and with Sheldon Whitehouse to end tax-free treatment for corporate mergers done via stock swaps. After the disastrous derailment of Norfolk Southern in East Palestine, Ohio Vance was the most vocal critic. He has called for treating university endowments — whose nonprofit status carries tax breaks for their wealthy donors — like corporations. He said on-record earlier this year that the folks on the left that he’s most open to are the “Bernie Bros.”
In addition to his White Grievance book, these are all things that play VERY well with young, white, disaffected, anti-establishment men–particularly the ones who never vote or don’t feel inspired by the two elderly candidates. Those are the un-gettable votes that could tip the scales for either candidate. And those voters don’t care about identity politics so his misanthropic, transphobic stance won’t mean much to them.
Suburban white women aren’t going to like what Vance has to say about abortion and domestic violence.
@QuiteContrary exactly. and he is VERY VERY on the record about those things.
Specific policy achievements don’t really matter. If they did, Biden would be leading in the polls right now by a landslide. Soundbytes matter. And there are enough ones out there that make Vance look bigoted, anti woman, and opportunistic and pathetic.
I’m not saying Trump picking him guarantees a Dem victory. It absolutely does not. but he could have picked someone who made the road for Biden a lot harder.
I agree with you. This was a fairly smart (yet risky) pick and it’s not one that Trump would have made if he didn’t think that he was going to win in November. Vance has mastered signaling/messaging to young, aggrieved, working class white men in rural states in a way that Trump has not. He has also gotten a decent amount of support from white liberals in the past, particularly in response to Hillbilly Elegy–fuck, Ron Howard even made a movie based on that book–so be prepared to hear him make that point again and again.
And it’s not to say that I think he’s going to draw a ton of new voters to Trump–but I could absolutely see him getting the libertarians, non-voters and even some independents on board now that he has a young MAGA-ite by his side. Also, Vance would have done what Pence refused to and he’s on-record saying as much. That plays well with the nutters on the Right.
This won’t happen given Biden’s penchant for being perpetually off-message, but my hope is that every time he’s asked about Vance he mentions how extreme he is and FFS SAY THE WORD ABORTION (!) and talk about how Vance is against exceptions. That’s the best way to scare folks away from him IMO. Still, I do think Vance will serve some utility for Trump, especially in OH and PA among the 18-29 crowd.
No it doesn’t. Teen Vogue put out an article in seconds about why he’s bad for Gen Z voters. And honestly he doesn’t appeal to them since he’s anti-LGBT, he’s anti-woman, he’s anti-Medicaid or Social Security. Him being the KKK Care Bear (TM Black Twitter) isn’t doing anything.
She said “young independent” voters. As an independent, I promise you that the spectrum is a broad one and the right-leaning independents who despise Trump for his rich, silver-spoon upbringing in NYC will likely find Vance and his particular brand of scrappy Blue Collar Rural Appalachian Guy much more appealing.
I fear that I’ve commented too much so I’m gonna leave here for a while but I’m honestly worried that Dems are being so dismissive of this nom. At the very least, we should be fearful that he picked a Trump loyalist who’s great at selling a specific brand of populism–one that shits on every person who isn’t a WWC rural male. We really shouldn’t be so cavalier about someone so dangerous.
I am independent too and don’t know why you think you are some authority on these matters. Vance is appealing to Trump for his loyalty, more than anything else. He’s not some great strategic pick who will win over new voters — he’s not even universally liked in his own party. The rural and working class voters have not forgotten the lies he wrote about him. And anyone who would have accepted the VP role would do Trump’s bidding, whether it’s Rubio or Scott or that dude with the weird teeth from North Dakota. They are all dangerous.
Naw, Youth is not voting for Trump, periodt. Does anyone remember that Trump LOST in 2020? Why would he gain votes in the four years since then? Four years where he did his best to undermine the framework of our society by inciting riots, trying to steal an election, and selling classified intel? Biden’s team has resuscitated the economy Trump almost killed, and has brought back stability and reason. This is our last chance to keep America from becoming an oligarchy, and Youth is fully aware of that. Some fat faced ferret in eyeliner isn’t going to dazzle them.
What can not be ignored is how the younger ones feel Biden is complicit in genocide.
Palestine is a huge issue for the younger demographic.
My 19 year old’s friends are voting for trump and my 28 year old and his friends are saying they aren’t voting
So their vote can not be counted on like it was last time
Not making light of Palestine, but it doesn’t poll as a top issue for young voters. Repeated polling shows they are far and away prioritizing the economy and the cost of living. From a nuanced perspective, they certainly disagree with his administration handling, but it isn’t necessarily what will motivate them in November.
@Khat See here’s the thing …
…. about those who are not voting or voting Trump because of his Palestine policy – if Trump gets in it will likely be worse believe it or not – all restraint could be lifted in that those advocating for the removal of all Palestinians from Gaza would probably get the support of Trump.
If you truly care about the Palestinians, vote and vote for Biden. Youth must have it’s head but if that’s your deciding cause, voting Trump or sitting out would be a dumber move than when those who weren’t Trump supporters but didn’t vote or voted for a third party in 2016 because Hillary was not good enough. Now in 2024 everyone knows full well what Trump is like.
Disagree. This was an own goal.
Did Peter Thiel’s “friend” fall out of a window? I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot more of that.
He’s already said that the UK under he new Labour government is going to become the first “truly Islamist country that will get a nuclear weapon” so it is off to a fantastic start on the international stage for this a**hole.
JFC that is VILE.
Thank you! He’s disgusting.
I copy/paste the quote just to be sure that I was getting it right. I think we can expect so much more from that guy until november.
Vote, donate, volunteer.
This guy’s own words about trump are the perfect campaign ad for the Democrats.
Somewhere, Ted Cruz cries into his coffee because he humiliated himself and kissed Trump’s ass for nothing…
Same with Tim Scott. He has been grovelling and eating shit for months on the Sunday shows.
I love this for both of them.
This may sound counterintuitive, but I’m actually grateful he selected this highly divisive dirtbag. The selection is another chance to turn off the swing voters he needs to win. The RNC line since Saturday is somehow “unity” (Ha! Imagine!!), but this is not a step for unity. This is not someone to steady the boat. This is doubling down on hatred and fascism. Hopefully it’ll turn enough people off.
I just hate that he seems to be choosing an heir apparent, although I can’t imagine Vance being popular enough to win a presidential vote without a lot of heavy intervention from the Republicans. I guess we’ll see how November goes.
Seriously, this looks like a real “fire up the base” move. I’d give a million to see those Republican internal polls–for Trump to give up like this, they must be disastrous.
I am heartened by Trump choosing Vance for VP because he will not help the ticket. He MAY deliver Thiel money. But he only appeals to MAGAs who were already on board. He does nothing to expand Trumps “appeal” for lack of a better word. There is much that can be used against him by the Biden/Harris campaign. This is a gift.
Trump shot himself in the foot with this one. Too soon? NAH.
This is what I don’t get about these republicans who are against IVF – they complain about people who don’t have children but they are putting up roadblocks for people to have children and grow their family. Not everyone is lucky enough to naturally get pregnant. Would ivf not be something to be embraced. Yes some embryos are discarded and don’t make it, but not because they are unwanted. People going through ivf are desperately wanting children.
All of this is true but you also have to remember that the ultimate goal of the GOP is just to hurt as many people as possible in every way possible.
These same people who want GOP voters to breed breed breed also think that if a person can’t get pregnant naturally then “God” doesn’t want them to be pregnant so they don’t want IVF to help impregnate someone “God” has already judged as not worthy of a baby.
Yes, they really are that stupid and cruel.
Native Appalachian here. While I no longer live there (WV) because I couldn’t see a path to have a good life there when I was younger, I love WV and still have family there. I would absolutely live there if I could support my family.
His book enraged me. J.D. Vance is a wanna-be who claims to understand what it means to be Appalachian. He capitalized on all the negative stereotypes of the region to create an origin myth for himself. His policies are reprehensible, and my only wish is that I had more than one vote to not give him.
I to Thai day do not understand why the left and pro-choice folks never mourned a campaign to illustrate how prolifers were not pro lifers at all. Once the kids are here they don’t give a shit about them. I don’t get why people don’t hammer this point home every single day. All day. Non stop.
My favorite description of Vance was from a Black pastor, Melech Thomas, on Twitter: “He looks like a racist Care Bear.”
I have a feeling Vance was a bad choice for tRump. I am hopeful he will be disgusting enough to undecided female voters that they won’t vote for the orange idiot.
Trying to find whatever positivity I can these days.
As a Southeastern Kentuckian, it blows my mind that people buy into his hillbilly shtick. There are posers and there are cosplayers (hello Duck Dynasty) and then there’s whatever the hell this guy is doing. He is as blue collar as I am Monaco royalty, and it’s so obvious I don’t understand why people are buying into it. He’s not blue collar. He’s not working class. He’s not. Don’t get me wrong, Appalachia has a lot to answer for and reckon with in regards to it politics, but we called this one when it happened and nobody on the outside listened to us.
For some levity, I recommend googling McSweeney’s updated Hillbilly Elegy article.
I am biracial and when I was younger, slim, with long wavy dark hair people told me I looked exotic and always inquired where I was from. From experience, there is a fetishization of POC women by white men. Drunk frat boys were the worst in college.
You know what doesn’t work out for the kids? Growing up with tension in the household, with sitting down at the dinner table with knots in your stomach not knowing if your father is going to after your mother, becoming more aware as you grow older of what’s happening in your household, what the noises and sounds and thumps actually are, that your mother’s black eye is not, indeed, because she walked into a door but because your father hit her. That doesn’t work out for the kids. Nor when, as a teenager, your brother had to defend your mother with nunchucks AFTER she just divorced your father. Really doesn’t work out. I am incensed at this asshole. I am insulted on behalf of my mother, my brother, my sister, and myself, of all the other (mostly) women who’ve been abused by spouses & stayed under the misbegotten notion of ‘for the sake of the kids’. BullSHIT.
The level of my staid contempt for this doughy white man knows no parameters.
He so perfectly represents the further decay of Democracy.
So ordinary, so bland and the epitome of opportunistic.