Ex-GOP insider exposes J.D. Vance's 'greatest weakness' for Tim Walz to exploit at debate

Sen. J.D. Vance has a major vulnerability that gives Gov. Tim Walz a big opening at the upcoming vice presidential debate, according to a former speechwriter for George W. Bush.

Ex-Bush insider David Frum wrote in a piece published in The Atlantic on Sunday that Vance, Donald Trump's pick for the Republican party's vice presidential nominee, is made weak by his "thin skin." How Tuesday's debate turns out could "hinge on whether Tim Walz can exploit his rival’s greatest weakness," Frum wrote.

"Kamala Harris used Donald Trump’s psychic weaknesses against him in their televised debate on September 10. Can Governor Tim Walz do the same to Senator J. D. Vance when they meet on Tuesday?" the writer asks.

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Frum goes on to cite an example of Vance being set off by a friendly news reporter.

"Watch what happens when Vance is asked an unexpected question by a friendly Fox News reporter: 'What makes you smile?' Vance responds with ill temper and defensiveness: 'I smile at a lot of things, including bogus questions from the media, man.' That insult is followed by an unpleasant laugh," according to Frum's perspective.

Vance is also known for appearing awkward when hit with unexpected statements, which is exactly what many political analysts say happened when the Republican senator made an unannounced stop at a donut shop. Vance's response was widely mocked.

Frum continues:

"It has been said that the Trump-Vance ticket is the angriest in recent history. But Vance doesn’t rage and roar onstage the way Trump does. Instead, he seethes with petty peevishness," the conservative wrote. "His disdain for women who deviate from his script for their life is barely disguised, or not disguised at all. It’s an unattractive look. Walz’s job is to provoke Vance into showing that ugly side to a huge national audience. How to do it?"

Frum points to some "clues" from Vance's past interactions.

"On September 15, Vance was interviewed by CNN’s Dana Bash. She pressed him on the falsity of his claims that Haitians in Springfield, Ohio, were stealing and eating household pets. That’s the interview where Vance let slip this revealing gaffe: 'If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do,'" he wrote Sunday. "What caused Vance to make his mistake? The 'creating a story' remark followed two rounds of Bash confronting Vance with statements from Ohio officials—including the mayor of Springfield and the county sheriff—that all contradicted Vance’s claims. In other words, she presented evidence that people whose opinion matters to him regard him as a liar."

Trump, Frum suggests, "would shrug that material off."

"Trump lies without regret. He often seems entirely unaware of the line between reality and fantasy. But Vance is aware. It bothered him to be exposed as untruthful. It stressed him, and he stumbled," according to Frum.

Read the full piece here (Atlantic subscription required).