, Columnist
JD Vance Was Supposed to Be a MAGA Heir. Now He’s a Liability.
Rarely has a vice presidential nominee failed so badly, so quickly.
Not meeting expectations.
Photographer: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images North AmericaSeldom has a VP candidate belly-flopped on the national stage as badly as Ohio Senator JD Vance. From unearthed remarks about higher taxes for childless people to contradicting his boss, Vance’s rollout has become a late-night punch line and a major distraction for Donald Trump’s campaign.
That’s not how this was supposed to work. Vance was hailed at the Republican National Convention as the heir apparent to the MAGA movement — a polished, brilliant Yale-educated lawyer whose up-from-the-bottom “Hillbilly Elegy” back story would have broad crossover appeal.