July 26, 2024 02:54 PM UTC

J.D. Vance Really, Really Not Going Over Well

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• by: Colorado Pols

Newsweek reports that GOP freshman Sen. J.D. Vance has by all accounts had a historically bad launch as Donald Trump’s running mate, with polls since the end of the Republican National Convention last week showing that Vance is the least popular vice presidential pick from either party in over 40 years:

The Ohio senator’s net favorable rating was at -6 points after the Republican National Convention (RNC), according to CNN’s senior data reporter Harry Enten. This is far behind the general average since 2000, which was +19 points.

Enten explained the numbers on Erin Burnett OutFront, which cited The Associated Press as the source.

“It’s in negative net territory, negative—look at that—negative,” he said. “I have gone all the way back since 1980. He is the first guy, immediately following a convention—a VP pick—who actually has a net-negative favorable rating. The average since 2000 is +19 points. J.D. Vance [is] making history in the completely wrong way.”

Even more troubling for Trump’s campaign is a surprising lack of enthusiasm for Vance in the states where was once considered a crucial asset to the campaign:

A CNN/SSRS poll revealed that 28 percent of people hold a favorable view of Vance in Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Wisconsin, with 44 percent saying they have an unfavorable view of the MAGA senator.

Vance’s net favorable rating of -16 points in his home region is larger than his -6 points on a national scale (28 percent favorable compared to 34 percent unfavorable).

The growing sense of remorse among Republicans over the choice of Vance as Trump’s running mate has been punctuated by the resurfacing of a wide variety of bizarre, misogynist, and just plain villainous statements Vance has made over the years like suggesting children should have voting rights through their parents and claiming “childless cat ladies” run the country. A new poll from Data For Progress shows that voters disagree strongly with just about everything Vance is famous for saying:

The crazy stuff that Vance has said on the record is so bad it’s left him vulnerable to even more bizarre fabrications that have gained traction mostly because Vance has already pushed the boundaries of believability. One false claim that spread virally is that Vance confessed in his memoir Hillbilly Elegy to engaging in a sexual act with a piece of living room furniture we’re trying not to name so as to avoid appearing in those Google searches. Though quickly debunked by persons in possession of Vance’s memoir, the story lived on for another news cycle after the AP deleted their fact-check titled “No, J.D. Vance Did Not Have Sex With a C—h,” it having been correctly pointed out that this could not be conclusively proven–only that Vance didn’t write about doing such a thing.

The reason this fake news about J.D. Vance has so much persistence is the factually accurate things he has said are wacky enough to make the story of Vance fornicating with furniture feasible at a glance in the minds of voters. Vox’s Rebecca Jennings summarized the plausibility issue that made this unfounded rumor stick:

It’s common for rumors about famous people that are objectively untrue but are funny or entertaining to go viral (a famous example suggests Glee actress Lea Michele secretly can’t read), whether started by intentional trolls, as was the case with Vance and the couch, or via games of digital telephone, where all context and factuality get left untranslated. Most of the time, the reason the rumors spread is because people genuinely want to believe them. In Vance’s case, the fact that he’d written a coming-of-age book meant that a common trope (teen boy tries to have sex with inanimate object) made some degree of sense, coupled with the fact that he’s espoused some extremely bizarre views on sex and gender.

As for what Vance’s insults against “childless cat ladies” that nobody can deny, today he appears to have doubled down on them as CBS News reports:

“Obviously, it was a sarcastic comment,” he said in an interview on “The Megyn Kelly Show” podcast. “I’ve got nothing against cats. I’ve got nothing against dogs. … People are focusing so much on the sarcasm and not on the substance of what I actually said. The substance of what I said, Megyn — I’m sorry, it’s true.” [Pols emphasis]

Not only was that the wrong answer, it’s a sign that Vance doesn’t know how to give the right answer even with a second chance. That helps explain the sustained sense of revulsion on the part of voters in polling since Vance’s introduction last week. When Trump chose Vance in the immediate aftermath of the July 13th assassination attempt and a week before Joe Biden announced he would step aside for Kamala Harris, Vance’s value was in running up the score with the Republican base, not persuading swing voters in a close election. If Vance continues to be a drag on the Trump ticket instead of the base-pleasing asset Trump expected, Trump’s infamously fickle loyalty could turn on a proverbial dime.

That would not be an elder statesman passing the torch to a new generation. But it would concede a huge mistake ten days ago.