Jul 18, 2024 - Politics & Policy
3 takeaways from J.D. Vance's big speech
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MILWAUKEE — Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance introduced himself to much of America on Wednesday by recounting his rise from an Ohio working-class family troubled by addiction — and hinting at the role he'll play in Donald Trump's campaign.
- Here are some key takeaways from Vance's speech Wednesday night.
1. Homage to Trump
- If there's one thing Donald Trump really likes, it's people lining up to sing his praises. That's been a theme of the GOP convention, and Trump has shown up each night to drink it all in.
- In his roughly 35-minute speech, Vance spent the first five minutes praising Trump for all sorts of things — his economic policies, his defiance in reacting to being wounded by a would-be assassin's bullet, his personal side as a father.
- This was more than a standard "thank you for picking me" tribute — it was Vance playing to the convention's goal of showing a human side to Trump.
2. The feisty Grandma
- Vance's recollection of growing up in a troubled family was spiced by his description of his grandmother Bonnie Vance, whom he called "Mamaw" and who took care of him when his mother couldn't.
- "Mamaw," Vance said, "loved the Lord but she also loved the F-word." He said that when he started hanging out with a boy who sold drugs, she threatened to run over the friend with her car, assuring Vance that "no one will ever find out about it."
- Vance also said that after she died in 2005, family members found "19 loaded handguns" hidden throughout her house. The crowd cheered, and Vance essentially had won GOP storytelling Bingo: a cute story about a religious but feisty grandma with guns.
3. Selling MAGA populism
- Vance indicated that he'll be selling Trump's economic policies to working-class people in the crucial swing states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.
- He railed against Democrats' push for electric vehicles and other policies that he claimed have hurt key industries in the Rust Belt.
- He said fighting policies that allow cheap, foreign-made goods into the U.S. at the expense of American jobs and communities would be a priority.
- "Things did not work out well for a lot of kids I grew up with" in Middletown, Ohio, Vance said.
