Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump announced July 15 he had chosen Sen. JD Vance (D-OH) as his running mate and vice president candidate. Vance accepted the nomination three days later. Since his nomination, Vance has made one thing clear: he is the wrong running mate for Trump.
The Sept. 10 presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump was broadcast to 67.1 million viewers. The debate was highlighted by a statement from Trump that caused extreme, racialized violence to break out in Springfield, Ohio.
After the debate, ABC News interviewed Vance. The hosts asked about Trump’s non-answer to a national abortion ban question, to which Vance said he had not discussed this issue with Trump. According to ABC News’s transcript of the debate, Trump also said they had not discussed the matter at the time, revealing a lack of communication.
The issue of abortion access has been increasingly politicized since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022. In the 2023 Ohio general election, voters passed Issue 1 to support amending the Ohio Constitution to enshrine abortion access. Abortion laws are in the minds of voters in the upcoming election. The dissonance between Trump and Vance may seem like carelessness — or, at the very least, unpreparedness — in the eyes of voters.
Vance is no stranger to offending his constituency, which worsens his disconnect to Trump. His most infamous controversy involves his widely successful and controversial memoir “Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of Family and Culture in Crisis,” wherein critics say he stereotypes and generalizes Appalachians. The impact of the novel was so widespread, editors Anthony Harkins and Meredith McCarroll published an anthological response, “Appalachian Reckoning: A Region Responds to Hillbilly Elegy.”
The controversial nature of the novel is, in large part, due to self-projection. Vance’s experiences as a Yale Law School graduate and senator are unique. Critics denounce the “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” ideology he promotes in his novel and the implied laziness of Appalachians, who are often stuck in systemic economic disadvantages. It was bold of Vance — a unique case in Appalachia — to not only stereotype and generalize the lives and experiences of Appalachians but also appoint himself as their memoir's writer.
The controversy surrounding Vance harms Trump’s presidential campaign. Trump’s target voter base is in rural agricultural communities in the Midwest and Appalachia, according to a 2020 presidential election map. His voter base is also overwhelmingly white, older than 50 and without a college degree, according to AP. Vance’s misrepresentation of this population exacerbates Trump’s controversies surrounding military service members and veterans, who are another portion of his voter base.
Vance and Trump lack the synergy and consistent platform observed in their opponents, Harris and Minnesota governor and running-mate Tim Walz. As a highly polarizing and controversial candidate, Trump should have picked a less polarizing running mate or one with varying views from him. Variety in presidential and vice presidential candidates can expand and broaden voter support, which is especially important in the competitive 2024 election. Instead, Trump did the opposite in choosing Vance, likely leaving gashes in their voter base.
Taylor Orcutt is a junior studying journalism. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Want to talk more about it? Let Taylor know by tweeting her @TaylorOrcutt.
