Vance finds his footing as Trump's attack dog
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Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio). Photo: Drew Hallowell/Getty Images
After a rocky launch as Donald Trump's running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance is settling into his campaign role — as an attack dog focused on issues that Trump's own advisers wish the former president would talk about more.
Why it matters: While Trump's annoyance at Vice President Kamala Harris' rise in the polls has been clear in the insults he's lobbed at Harris, Vance has been deployed to swing states to launch a disciplined assault on Harris' team on issues such as border security, immigration, crime and inflation.
- Wednesday in Wisconsin, Vance also delivered Republicans' opening jabs in questioning the military record of Harris' running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — and chiding Harris for not taking reporters' questions in interviews or news conferences.
Zoom in: Vance's tour this week, done while Trump stayed in Florida for several interviews with friendly media, mostly has involved community gatherings rather than the type of rallies that have featured Harris and Walz.
- But after some awkward appearances in his early days as Trump's running mate — and unflattering publicity over his past statements about Democrats being led by "childless cat ladies" — Vance appears to have found some footing.
- Trump campaign officials tell Axios they want to showcase why Trump chose Vance by "setting him loose" in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, where he's been shadowing the Harris-Walz campaign.
Hours before Harris announced Walz as her running mate at a rally in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Vance made an appearance in the city to blast the Biden administration's immigration policies.
- Vance blamed Harris and the administration for the rise in fentanyl overdoses in the U.S., citing his mother's struggles with opioid addiction.
- Then it was on to Michigan, where Vance criticized Harris' record on crime and immigration.
- Along the way, Vance also has taken aim at Walz over his response to the violent protests that followed George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis in 2020.
Vance also is showing that like Trump, he's up for stunts to try to grab headlines.
- At the airport in Eau Claire, Wis., on Wednesday, Vance spoke near where Harris' plane, Air Force Two, had landed.
- As reporters assembled to cover Harris' appearance, Vance walked over and joked that he was "checking out my future plane."
- He also slipped in a jab at the vice president, demanding that she "explain why every [policy] position she's had has changed."
The other side: "This is getting weird," Harris spokesperson Ammar Moussa said of Vance's actions Wednesday.
- "JD Vance is flying around the country following Vice President Harris. He approached her plane today because he just wants to talk. And now he's begging her for a debate?"
- Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), a Trump critic, joined the mocking of Vance approaching Air Force Two in a post on X that featured a photo of Vance near Harris' plane with about a dozen people.
- "Looks like @JDVance brought all his rally attendees to the airport with him today," Cheney wrote.
What's next: From now until Labor Day, Vance will continue to hold press-focused campaign events and town halls, Axios has learned, though his travel schedule will be dominated by fundraising commitments.
- After Labor Day, Vance mostly will be on the road in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan.
