The Vice President has been conspicuously absent from the Jeffrey Epstein drama lately, and one analyst thinks that may be a deliberate move to salvage his political future.
Michael Wolff, one of Donald Trump's biographers, made the comments Saturday on The Daily Beast's eponymous podcast. They come at a time when Trump and his allies are looking for ways to control the narrative of the Epstein fallout and repair the fractures that have emerged in the MAGA base.
"Where has JD Vance been in all of this?" Joanna Coles, the outlet's chief content officer, asked Wolff during the episode.
"Hiding," Wolff said with a laugh.
"JD Vance cannot, for his own political future, lose the MAGA base," Wolff continued. "But for his own political future, he cannot lose Donald Trump. Go figure."
Some experts have described Vance as the heir apparent to the MAGA movement, although the party's leader doesn't appear to see it that way. Earlier this year, Trump was asked whether he thought Vance would succeed him once Trump leaves politics. Trump ascerbically replied, "We'll see."
Vance has also been seemingly pushed out of the White House spotlight recently, which some attribute to his diminished role within the administration. New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie recently described Vance's role as the "president's official fanboy" because of his ability to communicate the president's most vile messages to the base.
"And in addition to acting as cheer captain for his boss, Vance also works to give the administration a veneer of intellectualism to cover its cruelty, corruption, and incompetence — a spokesman for the president’s brand of national populism," Bouie argued.
Watch the entire episode below or by clicking here.