The Wall Street Journal asked Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer this week about Donald Trump choosing Sen. JD Vance as his running mate. “Well, it’s too late to rethink it,” the North Dakotan responded.
It’s been that kind of rollout for the GOP’s vice-presidential nominee.
“I’ll bet President Trump is sitting there scratching his head and wondering, ‘why did I pick this guy?’” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told CBS News a few days ago. “The choice may be one of the best things he ever did for Democrats.” Just as importantly, quite a few Republicans have also struggled to pretend that they’re satisfied with the former president’s current running mate.
The larger question remains, however, what Trump thinks of his choice. As it turns out, Vance was a topic of conversation during the Republican’s disastrous appearance at the National Association of Black Journalists’ conference. USA Today reported:
Fox News host Harris Faulkner asked Trump whether Vance would be ready to take over “on Day 1,” noting that the former president recently survived an assassination attempt. Trump didn’t answer the question directly.
The line of inquiry couldn’t have been more straightforward. “When you look at JD Vance, is he ready on Day One?” Faulkner asked. What Trump should have said was, “Of course he is. I wouldn’t have chosen him for my ticket if I wasn’t certain he could assume the presidency in the event of a crisis.”
But instead of saying that, Trump instead argued that his running mate just isn’t that important.
“Historically, the vice president, in terms of the election, does not have any impact,” the former president said. “I mean, virtually no impact. … Virtually never has it mattered.”
Remember, the question was whether his running mate would be ready to lead in January. Instead of answering directly, Trump effectively said that his running mate just isn’t that important.
As part of the same appearance, he was also asked about Vance’s contempt for American couples without children, and Trump didn’t exactly have compelling answers on this, either. It’s been difficult to keep up with the recent reporting featuring the words “Vance” and “buyers’ remorse,” which helps explain why the Ohio senator begins his national effort with a negative favorability rating — a rarity for any modern running mate. Trump’s latest comments almost certainly won’t help. Trump “has a choice,” Schumer added this past weekend. “Does he keep Vance on the ticket, where he already has a whole lot of baggage … or does he pick someone new?” Such talk is almost certainly premature, though I have a hunch the New York Democrat won’t be the last prominent political figure to ask such a question.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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