More and more Republicans view 'weird far-right' Vance as major liability for Trump campaign

26 July 2024

Democrats have been hammering Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) relentlessly over his "childless cat lady" remarks from 2021 and 2022. The comments received some criticism back then, but they are drawing a lot more criticism now that the "Hillbilly Elegy" author is Donald Trump's presidential running mate and one of the women he attacked for not having biological children — Vice President Kamala Harris — is now 2024's presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

In 2021 and 2022, Vance argued that Americans who don't have biological children should be "punished" through tax increases. The MAGA senator has also been drawing criticism from Democrats for suggesting that women in "violent" or abusive marriages should not get divorced.

MSNBC's Steve Benen, in a July 26 column, emphasizes that more and more Republicans believe Vance has become a liability for Trump's campaign.

"By all appearances, Democrats seem quite pleased with Donald Trump's latest choice for running mate," Benen explains. "In fact, Democratic officials and their allies have spent the last week effectively treating Sen. J.D. Vance like a piñata, eagerly reminding the public about the Ohio Republican's weird far-right views. The question, however, is whether Republicans are equally satisfied."

Benen notes that Zachary Basu and Andrew Solender of Axios as well as The Atlantic's Tim Alberta have reported that Republicans are "second-guessing" Vance as Trump's running mate. And when Trump appeared on Fox News' "Fox and Friends," long-time co-host Steve Ducey asked him, "You're still 100 percent behind J.D. Vance, right?"

Benen explains, "The Republican nominee, not surprisingly, reiterated his support for his newest running mate, but the fact that a Fox host even felt the need to ask the question — a week after the party's national convention — was itself extraordinary. It was emblematic of a conversation in GOP circles that the party didn't expect to have."

The MSNBC writer points out that Vance was chosen as Trump's running mate when President Joe Biden was still the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

"That, of course, was when the GOP nominee thought a relatively easy victory over Biden was at hand," Benen observes. "As of five days ago, things are suddenly different. All of this obviously matters in an electoral context, but the developments also say a great deal about Trump's judgment. And none of it's good."

Steve Benen's full MSNBC column is available at this link.

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