I want you all to acknowledge that I was 110% right, and said so before most people, that J.D. Vance was a fantastic choice for Vice President.
There was lots of bedwetting after the Democrats ran a smear campaign against Vance for weeks and tried to firmly establish in people's minds that Vance was "weird." It was a smart play, in the abstract, and might have worked against a more generic candidate.
As every commentator wet the bed and whined that Trump blew it by choosing Vance, my thought was: just wait. The Democrats do this to every Republican, just as they inevitably pull out the Nazi Racist Misogynist Deplorable card and smear the Republican. So any damage that Vance took would be at least as bad as with any other candidate. If it had been Glenn Youngkin, he would have been smeared as a rapist pedophile by Democrats.
They do what they are going to do. Live with it.
My confidence in Vance was based on his facility with people, with speaking, his intelligence, and good humor. Vance is just GOOD at this. The more you see of him, the more you like him. Even my dad, a die-hard Democrat, likes and respects the guy because he has followed him since the publication of Hillbilly Elegy.
Vance has proven himself on the campaign trail, and Trump has wisely given Vance the assignment to wrangle with the press. Vance runs circles around them, and everybody knows that. They fear him because he is much smarter than they are.
The Joe Rogan podcast went well with Trump because he is mega-charismatic, but Trump being Trump, he was all over the place, rambled a bit, and did the whole Trump shtick you either know and love or know and hate. It was good for him but not game-changing.
Vance, though, slayed on Rogan. The chemistry was immediate, the conversation fascinating, and Vance proved himself (again) to be the opposite of weird. He is a guy. Just a guy.
A very smart guy, but not a sociopath as he was made out to be.
JD Vance on How Trump Asked Him to Be His VP
— Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) October 31, 2024
This is great pic.twitter.com/p0ctSjL9GO
Vance laughs, connects, draws you in, and is so genuine. Trump draws you in because you know he is saying exactly what pops into his mind. He is part businessman, part negotiator, and part carnival barker. You can't help but listen but also to go away wondering, "What was that?" You want to see it again because he is larger than life, but others have the opposite reaction: they hate him.
Vance is similar in his genuineness, but it has a different quality. He thinks in paragraphs. He is remarkably clear. He is not larger than life at all. You aren't mesmerized by him because you are fascinated; you are listening because he is the smartest guy you know and one of the humblest.
He like you, and you like him.
— bryan metzger (@metzgov) October 31, 2024
Both men tell stories very well, but very differently. Trump draws you in, sometimes like Norm McDonald--a long drawn out windup in which you become desperate for the punch line. It is usually worth it, but damn it can be frustrating.
Vance? Totally different.
JD Vance talks about a conversation he had with a conservative woman in Paris who talked about what she saw in NYC with a man wearing a mini skirt:
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) October 31, 2024
"Senator Vance, I'm embarrassed to tell you this... I could see his balls."
Vance says people who do that are "perverts" & "weird" pic.twitter.com/LiVYHJopao
Vance is the guy who can do a Kamala impression that captures her essence, and what is so wrong with her phoniness.
JD Vance does a Kamala impression 💀pic.twitter.com/jHX2ONxong
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) October 31, 2024
Whatever they say, most Democrats will secretly nod their heads. Yep, that's her.
Rogan brought out the best in Vance because they are in similar spots in their lives and both have working-class sensibilities. There is a reason why Rogan has an immense audience, and Vance is the perfect kind of guest for him.
JD Vance: "Every day, my 4-year-old or 2-year-old will come to me and say something that is batshit insane because they're 4 and 2. Like my 4-year-old will come and say, 'Daddy, I'm a dinosaur'. I'm going to take him to like the dinosaur transition clinic and put scales on him?" pic.twitter.com/HzlflQPU8c
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) October 31, 2024
Vance is compelling. He gets to the heart of the matter. Trump persuades through nicknames, hyperbole, marketing techniques, and more than a touch of genuineness on top of all the BS he tosses out there. We know how to listen to his spiel and understand his points, but it takes a while to "get" him, especially for the hypereducated people like me.
Vance and Rogan discuss how the mainstream media covered the Puerto Rican joke 30-100 times on each station
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 31, 2024
Yet the current sitting president calls half of America 'garbage' and the mainstream media barely discussed it. pic.twitter.com/oY6mcRnRr4
Trump paints in broad strokes and vivid colors; Vance is more like a painter from the early Renaissance. The level of detail amazes you, and the painting draws you in. Trump is Van Gogh and Vance DaVinci.
This is excellent from JD Vance.
— America 2100 (@America_2100) October 31, 2024
"This is one of the things that is genuinely different about Donald Trump's Republican party...we're now sometimes willing to ask: 'well is this corporation's interest in the American interest?" pic.twitter.com/kaLTMBjdN6
Vance is, above all, charming and warm. You could imagine having a wonderful evening with him, Usha, and their children and coming away happy that the country would be in their hands.
🚨ROGAN: "When my 14 year old was 2 we were on a skiing trip and we forgot her helmet and my daughter looks at the helmet and says: 'Shit.'
— Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) October 31, 2024
VANCE: "I took my 3 year old son on a trip and my son drops a cookie in between the seat and he looks at me and says: "Dad, well...fuck." 😂 pic.twitter.com/OuCfzmLF6S
They GET us.
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