Sen. JD Vance turned out to be exactly the vice presidential pick that former President Donald Trump always wanted — handsome, smooth, smart, glib, polished and, most importantly, great on TV.
Let me be clear: I don’t trust JD Vance. Not one lick. He has zero integrity. Just a few short years ago he said he worried Trump had the potential to be an American “Hitler.” And the political philosophy he espouses today is utterly at odds with the JD Vance who wrote “Hillbilly Elegy.” His extreme political makeover is cynical and self-serving. But none of that matters to Donald Trump. What matters to Trump is someone who can make the case for Trump on TV. And Vance did that Tuesday night.
The political philosophy he espouses today is utterly at odds with the JD Vance who wrote “Hillbilly Elegy.”
What a turn of events it’s been. We’re only a few weeks removed from daily discussions that Vance’s unpopularity could lead to him getting kicked off the ticket. Vance’s approval ratings have been abysmal from the get-go, and then clips from innumerable weird podcasts kept resurfacing. Suddenly, the bestselling author and avatar of MAGA’s future was best known for the many cruel and retrograde things he’s said about women.
But to Vance’s credit, throughout this barrage of bad press that continued right up until Tuesday night’s debate, he kept his head down, ignored the noise and stayed out there day after day, plodding along at rally after rally and TV interview after TV interview. Unable to connect with voters in the wild, at the debate he was able to perform as a perfectly slick TV news pundit.
Certain politicians excel at retail politics, always out shaking hands with real people at events in diners and coffee shops. Then there are other politicians who excel at wholesale politics — giving speeches or making the case in debates, all in front of that television camera. Vance excels at the latter, and he proved it at the debate.
The final requirement for any Trump vice president: Be utterly shameless, say anything, no matter the truth. To work for Trump, you must lie for Trump. And Vance — from his utterly shameless dishonesty about how Trump saved Obamacare (it wasn’t Trump, it was Barack Obama) to his risible claim that there was a peaceful transfer of power after the 2020 election — surely made Trump proud. Vance had polish, and, unlike Trump at the last debate, he never lost his cool. He and Walz were strangely cordial to each other all night. This made Vance a far better spokesperson for Trump than Trump himself. And for Trump, that’s all that matters. Trump took a lot of heat even from his own base over the Vance pick. I bet a lot of them see it differently now. Trump sells MAGA at his rallies; Vance sells MAGA on TV. It’s a perfect Trumpian partnership. And if the MAGA ticket doesn’t win in 2024, Vance’s wholesale political skills are clearly making him the MAGA heir apparent in 2028. After all, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis — Vance’s closest MAGA heir apparent competition — is one of those rare politicians who isn’t very skilled at either retail or wholesale politics. I’m sure Trump is still smiling from his protégé’s debate performance, and Vance can probably stop worrying about getting a late boot from the ticket.
Joe Walsh
Joe Walsh is a former congressman and the host of “The Social Contract with Joe Walsh” podcast. 
