Now that the dust has cleared from the Republican Party convention, Donald Trump's choice of vice presidential running mate Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) is prompting questions from conservative Charlie Sykes.
Speaking to MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace on Thursday's episode of "Deadline: White House," the editor-in-chief of The Bulwark questioned how Trump landed on Vance.
Wallace read off some of the top lines of Vance's votes. Those and some of his comments are coming back to haunt him.
"It did cross my mind," Sykes confessed, "Did Donald Trump vet this guy, or were they just thinking, hey, I like the cut of his jib? I'm going to go with him. Because clearly, there's a real possibility he could be a liability here, particularly when women hear what he is saying."
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He turned to the first polls being released showing Vice President Kamala Harris in a match-up with Trump after the assassination attempt and after the convention. The race is still close.
"Just keep in mind that traditionally, the week after a national party convention, the nominee has a significant bump, maybe 8 to 10 points," said Sykes. He speculated whether in 2024 if that is still a possibility.
"But think again where Donald Trump was one week ago today before he accepted," Sykes continued. "The goodwill that surrounded him after the (attempted) assassination, then the really unified convention, and names the vice president. He accepts the nomination. In normal politics, he would be flying high this week. The Democrats would have their chance later. But there's no bump whatsoever."
Meanwhile, Harris has spent the past three years mostly quiet, and voters don't know her the way that they do Trump or President Joe Biden.
"And she's been underestimated in the political world, in the media, even among fellow Democrats," Sykes said. He also explained that, after Hillary Clinton, even Democrats didn't think Harris could win at the top of the ticket. As a result, they were pressing to stick with Biden.
"Now she's come out in this very effective way. So, you set aside the poll today because I think things are so fluid, but the fact that she's doing this well under these circumstances really shouldn't be overlooked," he closed.
See the full comments from Sykes below or at the link here.
Conservative confused about J.D. Vance: 'Did Donald Trump actually vet this guy?'youtu.be