If JD Vance is sworn in as Donald Trump’s vice-president on January 20, 2025, he will, at 40 years and five months, be the youngest occupant of that office since Richard Nixon in 1953, and the third youngest in US history.
Only three days ago, Trump — officially nominated yesterday at the party’s national convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin — narrowly escaped assassination at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Long convinced he is the victim of systematic persecution, he now presents himself as the indispensable strongman who cheated death — chosen by God to fulfil his destiny.
His choice of the senator from Ohio as his running mate has much to tell us about his state of mind and plans in the wake of that terrible attack, in which, let us not forget, Corey Comperatore, a retired fire chief, was killed while trying to protect his family, and two other men were critically wounded.
For a start, the selection of Vance — once a fervent opponent of Trump and now his fiercest supporter — shows that he intends not only to win a second term but to entrench the Maga movement he has built since descending the golden escalator in 2015 to announce his presidential candidacy. Already, the Republican party has been transformed into a cult of personality and the political subsidiary of Trump, Inc. In Milwaukee, the sense of dynastic ownership is clear: in addition to the wounded patriarch himself, Donald Trump Jr, his fiancée Kimberly Guilfoyle, Eric Trump and his wife Lara Trump (who is now the co-chair of the Republican National Committee) were all slated to speak.
By choosing Vance, Trump is engaging in explicit legacy planning — he is now the face of millennial Maga
By choosing Vance, Trump is, for the first time, engaging in explicit legacy planning. The Republican vice-presidential nominee is now the undisputed face of millennial Maga — alongside 38-year-old Vivek Ramaswamy, who ran for the top job in the presidential primaries. Trump is too narcissistic to anoint a successor.
But he has come as close as his personality will allow. The choice of Vance also puts into perspective all the speculation that Trump, having reflected upon the assassination attempt and the risk of further political violence, will present himself this week as a unifier and healer.
I have no doubt that, in his speech on Thursday, he will pay lip service to the notion of national unity and the need for Americans to find common ground. But he did precisely this after the Iowa caucus in January — “It would be so nice if we could come together and straighten out the world and straighten out the problems” — and then immediately resumed his brutal verbal attacks upon the other contenders for the nomination. The naming of Vance shows that he has absolutely no interest in unity, moderation or bridge-building.
His new running mate is a seriously divisive figure who sows controversy without breaking a sweat. A protégé of the profoundly controversial tech tycoon Peter Thiel, he has also aligned himself with the “new reactionary” philosopher Curtis Yarvin, who believes that the institutions of state must be aggressively transformed and that America would be better served by a monarchy than liberal democracy. Like Trump, Vance is strongly opposed to illegal immigration; to US financial support for Ukraine; to “dumb” action against climate change; to what he sees as obstructive judicial interference in the political process.
He was at the former president’s side in May during the hush-money trial in Manhattan — and is doubtless delighted that (Trump-appointed) Judge Aileen Cannon yesterday dismissed the classified documents case in Florida.
On Saturday, Vance instantly — and outrageously — claimed that President Joe Biden was responsible for the attempt on Trump’s life. “The central premise of the Biden campaign is that President Donald Trump is an authoritarian fascist who must be stopped at all costs,” he posted on X.
“That rhetoric led directly to President Trump’s attempted assassination”.
A presidential candidate who wants to lower the temperature does not put a man like Vance on the ticket. We can now be sure that Trump, if re-elected, has every intention of following the sorts of radical proposals put forward by the Project 2025 coalition of Maga policy experts. This time, he seeks not just power, but power with a purpose.
If he wins, Vance will be his loyal apprentice and enforcer, rather than a brake on his wilder instincts or a voice of moderation in the White House. “I just try to enjoy the ride,” he told Sean Hannity in a Fox News interview last night. For everyone else, that ride could be very dangerous indeed.
