My Spidey sense told me from the beginning that Donald Trump wanted to choose JD Vance as his running mate.
He viewed the freshman senator as a populist conservative in his own way, an eloquent voice who could help cement Trumpism as the future of the Republican Party. And he had a powerful defender in Donald Trump Jr.
But then, after the horrific assassination attempt on Trump last weekend, I had a moment of doubt.
The former president had begun to say that he needed someone who could help him get elected. Given the heightened awareness that someone who was shot might have to immediately take over as president, I thought Trump might reconsider and turn to the much better-known and more experienced Marco Rubio. No.
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Former President Donald Trump on Monday named Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as his 2024 running mate. (Fake Images)
Vance has several things going for him. He served in Iraq, giving him a military credential his rivals lacked. And, though he's from Ohio, he speaks the language of the Midwest.
If that helps Trump win in the neighboring state of Pennsylvania, the election is won. President Biden’s only path to re-election – which leaders of his own party privately consider to be extremely narrow – is to win Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin.
Vance, after writing “Hillbilly Elegy,” said some terrible things about Trump in 2016, even comparing him to Hitler. Rubio did so as well, and the former president has long since made peace with both men.
The downside for Vance is that most ordinary voters have never heard of him, and his relative inexperience, having only just been elected to public office in 2022, is questionable.
US Senator JD Vance, Trump's vice presidential pick, arrives at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Vance acknowledged his past criticisms of Trump and said he was glad he was wrong once he got to know the former president. He also modified his positions, especially on abortion, to align with the MAGA agenda.
Biden's campaign immediately attacked Vance, saying he “will do what Mike Pence failed to do on January 6th: do everything in his power to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda, even if it means breaking the law and regardless of the harm to the American people.”
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In his 2022 campaign, Vance said he would vote to put a national ban on abortion starting at 15 weeks gestation, but he also believes in certain exceptions. Trump is against a national ban and is sticking to the Supreme Court's language, which leaves the decision up to the states.
Trump has been sending signals by talking up the merits of his running mate. He said North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, a wealthy tech investor whose company he likes, was problematic because he signed very strict abortion restrictions in his state. Plus, Burgum is largely unknown and North Dakota has three electoral votes.
Former President Donald Trump (left) listens as North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum (right) speaks during a Nevada Republican primary watch party in Las Vegas. (Ian Maule/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Speaking about Rubio, who spoke at a recent rally with Trump, the former president said the constitutional hurdle preventing two running mates from being from the same state could easily be fixed but remained a complication best avoided.
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The sequence of yesterday’s announcement was strange. Both Rubio and Burgum, presumably with Trump’s permission, said they had received calls saying they were out of the race, leaving Vance to go through the process of elimination.
Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio (left), and his wife Usha Chilukuri Vance (right) are introduced on the first day of the Republican National Convention Monday in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Perhaps Trump realized this because he confirmed Vance long before waiting for the 4:30 ET time and Vance was told he was the one just 20 minutes before Trump made it public.
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For political junkies, Vance is now the instant favorite for 2028.
And I've learned once again to trust my Spidey sense.
