It appears Donald Trump may be regretting his choice of running mate. When Republican Senator Kevin Cramer was asked if Trump regretted choosing JD Vance as his running mate, his answer was simply, “Well, it’s too late to rethink it.”
In an interview with CBS News a few days ago Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, “The choice may be one of the best things he ever did for Democrats.”
But the most revealing answer was given by Trump himself at the National Association of Black Journalists conference. When Fox News reporter Harris Faulkner asked Trump if he (Vance) would be ready to take over on Day 1, seeing as he recently dodged an attack on his life, Trump’s answer was evasive.
Instead of being positive and saying yes Vance would definitely be ready, he said, ”Historically, the vice president, in terms of the election, does not have any impact. I mean virtually no impact…. Virtually never has it mattered.”
Trump was also asked about Vance’s contempt for childless couples, and Trump didn’t really have anything of substance to say to that either.
On Friday, Vance did try to defend himself regarding his ‘childless catladies comment’. Speaking on the MegynKelly Sirius XM talk show, he said:
“It’s not a criticism of people who don’t have children. I explicitly said in my remarks – despite the fact the media has lied about this – that this is not about criticizing people who for various reasons didn’t have kids. This is about criticizing the Democratic Party for becoming anti-family and anti-children.”
Trump’s rather weak defence of Vance’s statement was that family is important to him and that is why he said it and he wasn’t against anything.
Schumer said that Trump has a choice. “Does he keep Vance on the ticket, where he already has a whole lot of baggage…or does he pick someone new?”
The general feeling when it comes to JD Vance being the vice presidential candidate is one of buyer’s remorse.
Right-wing blogger Ben Shapiro questioned whether Trump made the right decision in picking Vance. “If you had a time machine, if you went back two weeks, would [Trump] have picked JD Vance again? I doubt it.”
No one expected the tidal wave of trolling, resurfaced old comments and tropes from his book and interviews to come back to haunt Vance and the Republican Party so badly.