All posts tagged "jd vance"

Ridicule as MAGA campaign rally flops in battleground state: 'Oof that's rough'

Vice President JD Vance tried to rally voters to support a MAGA candidate in a battleground state but attracted only a small crowd.

On Friday, Vance went to Council Bluffs, Iowa, to stump for GOP gubernatorial nominee Zach Lahn, but he was met with an underwhelming crowd, leading to ridicule online.

A picture by a Reuters photographer revealed the sparse crowd that took up only a small square in the middle of a gymnasium, with a more bunched group standing behind Vance for the background of photos. Journalist Aaron Rupar mockingly described the photo as "JD Vance speaks to dozens of people today in Iowa."

"Oof that's rough," wrote podcaster and political commentator Krystal Ball, who co-hosts "Breaking Points."

"Don't worry @RepAshleyHinson," taunted The Lincoln Project, referring to a similarly small turnout for a rally held by MAGA Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA), the GOP nominee for Senate in Iowa. "No one else showed up either."

"This could've been an email..." joked YouTube and digital content expert Chris Robinson.

"Yikes!" reacted Iowa State Representative J.D. Scholten. "@RobSandIA gets more people at his town halls than this," referring to Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand, who is running against Lahn as the Democratic nominee.

"Can't believe people aren't flocking to @jdvance's charisma," Scholten sarcastically added.

"Yikes," echoed Democratic political communications strategist Daniela Campos Lopez. "Small crowd."

"Goodness," reacted Iowa political adviser Zachary Meunier.

"Vice President of the United States of America," deadpanned Capitol Hill reporter Julian Andreone.

"What's funny is about half of these people are campaign staff that are already being paid to be there," suggested George Basile, a policy communications official from Philadelphia.

"You could fit this entire room on a couch," author and political commentator Hemant Mehta posted, evoking a long-running internet joke about Vance supposedly committing degrading acts with furniture.

"In 2024 Trump won Iowa by 13.2 points," pointed out progressive political commentator Molly Jong-Fast, suggesting change may be afoot.

Trump's 'biggest mistake' spurs immediate panic among Republicans: report

In the wake of President Donald Trump's midterm convention, Republicans are sharing their honest thoughts about how it will impact upcoming elections — and they're not happy.

In a Saturday report, Politico collected feedback from Republicans, who didn't mind using profanity to describe their worry over what they saw as the "biggest mistake" Trump made at the two-night event.

"He said 'I am on the ballot,' which is going to f— us," said a GOP county chair in a region where House races are competitive because of Trump's unpopularity. "People will vote against congressmen and women to get back at Trump."

The midterms are less than a couple of months away, and according to Politico, "a swath of GOP lawmakers" are "near despondent at Trump's comments" at the convention.

Over the course of two speeches, Trump promised $5,000 "dividends" for a GOP midterm victory in the House and Senate, continued to call GOP Senate nominee Ken Paxton ugly, and had voters promise to "cheat like hell."

"I'm sure it helps with the base where enthusiasm is low, but it won't help with independent or swing voters," an anonymous House Republican told Politico.

"Not sure he offered a vision for the next 60 days," another House Republican said. "Trump's economy is still on a collision course with reality."

Others said that while Vice President JD Vance's speech was better, he didn't do much more to help, even as he told a protester to get his "a— over" to Mexico. One GOP operative told Politico that Vance's speech on the second night wasn't bad, but described it as bland and underwhelming.

"There was nothing that stood out to me as powerful enough to stand out online," the GOP operative told Politico. "I haven't seen anything going very viral outside of JD blasting the protester."

JD Vance gave himself away with line he used to deny he's 'racist': CNN

Jake Tapper delivered a harsh response Friday to Vice President JD Vance's boast that Republicans are unfairly branded racist: the line itself, the CNN anchor said, sounded racist.

Vance, positioning himself as President Donald Trump's 2028 heir, used his keynote at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas to run through a list of grievances.

"And we were tired of being called racist for noticing that our country was becoming dirtier and poorer and less safe and less prosperous," Vance said.

The irony was not lost on CNN.

On "The Lead with Jake Tapper," the host played the clip and didn't mince words.

"Well, I mean, that does sound a bit racist, actually," Tapper said. Later, as a panelist unpacked the racially charged remark, Tapper concluded, "That's what the comment sounds like."

That panelist, Corbin Trent, a former communications director for Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), called it a "strange sentence to string together" and questioned the logic behind it. If Vance's explanation for the country supposedly growing "poorer" and "dirtier" was Black and Brown people, Trent said, "then that probably is racist."

Republican strategist Ashley Davis, a former George W. Bush White House official, however, praised Vance as a strong speaker who rallied the crowd nearly as well as Trump and may have positioned himself to clear the 2028 field.

Vance's grievance came at a convention already drawing scrutiny for its charged rhetoric, including a crowd member who shouted that Democrats "should be shot" during Ted Cruz's speech and Cruz's own warnings about "communists and Islamists." Vance, who once spread the false claim that Haitian immigrants were eating pets, drew his loudest cheer moments later by taunting a protester he said was waving a Mexican flag.

‘Lost the plot’: Vance breaks from Trump’s ‘alternate reality’ with stark voter warning

Vice President JD Vance is delivering a far different midterm message than President Donald Trump by acknowledging dissatisfaction with the administration instead of insisting that everything is going well, according to a new CNN analysis.

It’s a far more realistic appeal to voters, CNN senior reporter Aaron Blake wrote Friday, and offers “a striking contrast to President Donald Trump’s all-is-great, we’re-in-the-Golden-Age approach.”

“But it’s a difficult sell — in large part because Trump has given voters so much to dislike,” Blake argued.

The biggest problem is affordability, which remains the top concern for most Americans, CNN reported. Trump has spent months insisting that prices are falling and the economy is booming, but he has failed to persuade voters, according to Blake.

“And Trump has lost the plot on it,” he said. “He hasn’t seemed to convince virtually anyone of this alternate reality.”

The president is behaving as though he does not care about public opinion, Blake told readers Friday. “That’s led people to believe Trump is asleep at the wheel,” he added.

Vance took a more cautious approach during his keynote address at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas. He acknowledged that some voters support parts of the administration’s agenda while strongly opposing others.

“I’m not asking anybody to agree on every single policy of the administration,” Vance said. “What I am asking you to do is to recognize the contrast with the radicals and recognize the achievements of the last 18 months.”

Blake described the vice president’s presentation as “at least an attempt to level with people,” but one that may ultimately prove more useful in a future campaign where “he might need some distance from Trump.”

'Striking' claim in JD Vance speech staggers ex-GOP operative: 'Does Trump know?'

A former GOP operative was caught off guard when he heard Vice President JD Vance's comments about Charlie Kirk and the Iran war.

On Thursday, Vance gave the keynote speech at the second night of the GOP midterm convention in Dallas. Through the evening, speakers kept bringing up Kirk because the date marked one year since his assassination during a Turning Point USA event in Utah.

Vance brought him up to talk about hearing out opposing political views and said that Kirk wouldn't agree with everything that Trump has done during his second term.

"Don't give the country over to a bunch of crazy people because you happen to disagree with us on a policy issue," Vance said. "I'm not asking anybody to agree with me on every single issue. I'm not asking anybody to agree on every single policy of the administration."

To make his point, Vance explained that Kirk "was a free thinker with his own principles and views. He did not always agree with us. Let me just give you one example."

Vance continued, "Charlie hated war, whether it's Europe or Africa, the Middle East, he didn't care. That was his view."

Political commentator and former GOP operative Tim Miller was covering the event through a livestream for The Bulwark. After Vance finished his comments about Kirk's view on war, Miller said, "Wow!" and explained why he was surprised.

"Man, JD Vance making the claim that posthumous Charlie Kirk would've been against the Iran war during the midterm convention is pretty striking," Miller said. "Does Trump know the vice president and Charlie Kirk are against the war?"

Vance's comments came moments after a protester disrupted his speech, but also after a New York Times report that revealed the vice president had been seeking blunt assessments about the Iran war from military commanders that differed from the Pentagon's official view.

Protester disrupts JD Vance's 'birthright' speech at GOP convention — and the crowd erupts

Vice President JD Vance was interrupted during his speech at the GOP midterm convention by a protester, leading to taunts from the MAGA crowd.

Vance spoke on the last night of the GOP convention in Dallas, where he repeatedly invoked the word "birthright" in his grievance-laden speech. At one point, he told the crowd, "We were tired of being called racists for noticing that our country was becoming dirtier and poorer."

A protester began shouting at Vance during the speech and waved a Mexican flag. Vance then said, "Get your a— back to Mexico. I'll buy the plane ticket."

"If you don't like the USA, go back to Mexico," a woman from the crowd could be heard yelling.

Vance secretly called commanders to get the war truth that Trump won't say: report

Vice President JD Vance quietly went around the Pentagon to call military commanders directly for blunt assessments of the Iran War.

The New York Times reported Thursday that Vance wanted the commanders' individual judgments as they saw them before those views were merged into an official Pentagon position. The Times described Vance as opposed to the war from the outset, and he was tasked by President Donald Trump with helping to end it.

The vice president reached commanders in the Middle East, Europe, and Asia, pressing them on the war's objectives, casualty estimates, how much punishment Tehran's government could absorb, and what was left in their weapons stockpiles, according to the report.

The answers were sobering as officers were most alarmed by their shrinking supply of Patriot interceptors, which are the mainstay of U.S. air defenses. One theater of the conflict dropped below 100 of them by late spring, The Times reported.

Those private assessments clashed sharply with what the administration has said in public. Trump has continued to falsely claim the United States has already won, that Iran's military has been demolished, and that there are no problems with American weapons supplies, The Times noted. Vance himself recently played down the notion that the country was even at war.

Behind closed doors, the president has raged at coverage of the depleted stockpiles and branded the reporting treasonous, according to The Times. Investigators later subjected dozens of senior Pentagon officers to polygraph tests.

The administration pushed back on the reporting. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the defense secretary had "facilitated direct access to combatant commanders" for the vice president and other senior White House officials.

Joseph Holstead, a spokesman for General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, insisted "there is no gap in the military advice" provided to the president, vice president, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

'We're barely hanging on': Trump coalition wails as 2028 GOP hopefuls leave it out to dry

The Make America Healthy Again movement that helped President Donald Trump win in 2024 says it's falling apart as it feels abandoned and leaderless.

According to a Friday Politico article, leaders of the coalition said they cannot find a candidate willing to carry their agenda into the 2028 race, and they blame the Trump administration for letting the movement's momentum fade.

"I haven't seen anyone that I'm excited about," said MAHA influencer Kelly Ryerson, who believes issues like regenerative farming and cutting pesticides are politically potent. "And it's weird to me that they aren't being more vocal about it because it's so winning, but they're not."

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fought the maker of Roundup in court earlier in his career, and that bought him favor with MAHA because it considered pesticides toxins that need to be reduced or eliminated. However, in February, the Trump White House sided with pesticide giant Bayer, the maker of Roundup, which "disillusioned" top MAHA leaders, according to Politico.

"When it comes to 2028, I don't think the next president is in the race yet," said Vani Hari, a longtime ally of Kennedy who pushes for healthier ingredients in food.

Vice President JD Vance has drawn little enthusiasm from MAHA despite praising the movement at a 2025 summit, according to Politico. However, MAHA leaders, including Ryerson, say that he hasn't shown a lot of interest.

"He's had an opportunity for the last few years to really dig into that, be involved, speak at things, be really supportive," Alex Clark, who hosts a health and wellness podcast for Turning Point USA, told Politico. "I mean, I've basically heard nothing. So that's a huge missed opportunity."

Meanwhile, a recent joke by Secretary of State Marco Rubio about his love for Pop-Tarts didn't go over well with MAHA, which considers itself at war with processed foods.

"The torch was burning so fierce in 2024, and now it's like flickering," Clark said. "I wouldn't say it's snuffed out totally yet, but jeez Louise, we're barely hanging on."

JD Vance's end-times talk with a Christian influencer raises red flags: 'Wacky stuff!'

Vice President JD Vance's sit-down with a right-wing Christian influencer about the end times raised a red flag, a serious political analyst warned.

In a Wednesday podcast episode, progressive political analyst David Pakman dissected Vance's conversation with Bryce Crawford. Pakman described Crawford as an influencer who "goes out on the street" asking people whether they're "with Jesus."

"What I'm trying to focus on is doing as much of God's work as possible right now," Vance told Crawford in a clip flagged by Pakman. "And if that leads to the end times, okay."

Pakman said that the problem wasn't Vance's faith but the combination of "massive political power" and "casual, apocalyptic thinking" from a man who is "a heartbeat from the presidency."

"Do I think that we're in the end times?" Vance said in another clip. "I don't know, and I think that it's probably bad for me spiritually to focus too much on it because there are like things you got to do."

Pakman also raised concerns about Vance's comments about the Antichrist. "I think that there are like things about the world that make me feel like not shocked if the Antichrist was walking among us," Vance said.

The remarks "deserve some follow-up questions," Pakman argued. Vance should explain whether he sees his role as vice president as a way to "accelerate" or "precipitate" a "biblical end times prophecy," Pakman said.

"Is he thinking about American foreign policy in terms of like, 'What could I do to bring about the rapture?'" Pakman asked. "That is wacky stuff."

Pakman stopped short of diagnosing the vice president and said it "would be inappropriate to do that." Still, taken together, the interview was "bizarre," Pakman said.

"If what I do leads to the rapture, then so be it," was an "insane sentence," Pakman argued.

James Carville predicts Trump's early departure spells doom for his 'babbling' successor

Veteran Democratic political strategist James Carville predicted that President Donald Trump would leave by April and thereby weaken Vice President JD Vance.

In a Friday episode of the Politics War Room podcast, Carville continued pushing that Trump will resign and leave the White House because he gets fed up with the job, a prediction he made earlier this year.

However, Carville said the move will really hurt Vance. Carville has previously predicted that Democrats will win the House and the Senate in the November midterms, and he factored that into his damning vision of the Vance White House.

"When this happens and Vance becomes president, he's definitely not going to have the House. I don't think he's going to have the Senate, and he's going to be a lame duck," Carville said. "He's only going to have less than two years to go."

Carville added that he expects Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who's seen as competing with Vance to be Trump's hand-picked successor, will make the job tougher for Vance. Carville said Vance's downfall will take the GOP down too.

"Lil Marco will be sniping at him, and then the whole Republican Party is going to fall apart when they lose all these seats," Carville said. "They're going to know that Trump doesn't protect them."

Republicans are already "mortified" about the polling ahead of the midterms, Carville continued. He noted that they're even down in South Carolina, where Trump endorsed GOP nominee for the Senate, Darline Graham. Trump "can barely protect them in a Republican primary in Oklahoma," Carville said. The current situation spells trouble for Vance in terms of the power he will have, Carville stressed.

" JD Vance, in my opinion, will be president next April," Carville said. "He will be the most constrained, ineffective, babbling president in the history of the United States."