Amidst the desperate fight for survival that has consumed Republicans during this midterm cycle, we saw one of the most obvious acts of panic yet— this time from JD Vance. At a rally in Texas for the ever-embattled Senate candidate Ken Paxton, Vance responded to a man in the crowd who shouted that he loved him.
“I love you too, sir. In a totally platonic way, to be clear. I’m the vice president, not James Talarico.”
Republicans are so far back against the ropes, they have Vance resorting to a tactic that’s essentially, “no homo.”
They are giving Talarico the full court press. Trump has become obsessed with him being a vegan (he’s not), and trotted out a line about how his attempts to connect with carnivorous Texas voters by eating barbecue end with him “throwing up all over the place” (he doesn’t). Ken Paxton’s team amplified an instantly debunked conspiracy theory claiming Talarico had checked himself into a mental health facility in Ohio. He was at home with the flu (yes, it was fact checked against security footage from Talarico’s home, because we live in hell).
But these tactics look sophisticated next to Vance’s glorified schoolyard bullying. It’s pathetic, and they know it. And they’re stooping this low because they know they can’t win on the merits, or their record, or the quality of their candidates. The best they can do is resort to name calling and culture war attacks.
Now, of course we can expect this from Trump; he’s a lame duck president desperate to save himself from whatever consequences he’ll face if Democrats regain control of Congress. His post-midterm priorities are mitigating his own legal exposure and preserving his legacy.
But Vance is an entirely different story. He has a long game to consider, because as soon as the midterms are over, he’s got to make a hard pivot to likely 2028 frontrunner.
He’s always been a chameleon. He went from calling Trump “America’s Hitler” to being his number one lap dog. Now, he’s got a tough needle to thread to get through the midterms. While stumping, he needs to be whatever the party needs him to be. At the moment, that’s Trump Lite. But he’s not a natural at it. Trump’s the ultimate insult comic, while Vance has the charisma of a paper bag. He put all that energy into the Good Catholic Boy (TM) rebrand, and now he’s burning it by attacking a Presbyterian seminarian in defense of Ken Paxton, the most disgusting man on earth.
Still, he performs, because part of being in the Trump movement is blind allegiance to the Godking— no matter what it costs you.
Trump’s great political trick was convincing voters of his “authenticity”— and the quotation marks are doing a lot of heavy lifting here. But at least he was consistent about the act. Vance has been so many different people in ten years that by 2028, voters will have no reason to believe in any of them.
Already has. Vance is a white fake Christian MAGA imbecile who challenges the Pope of all people. He has never condemned Putin or the Trumps’ crimes against humanity. He’s trying to be president riding the fence.
An ignorant, dude who argues with the pope gets zero respect for me. Go, James Talarico. Win the Senate.