Opinion | Trump and Musk will focus on. But Vance is someone worth paying attention to.
JD Vance may not have headlines like Donald Trump or even Elon Musk, but if you care about the long political game, he is the one to watch.
His vice presidential mission seems to be carefully chosen to focus on the direction of the United States – a strategy that is fully demonstrated with Mr. Vance’s remarks on AI US global leadership held in Paris this week. He turned his head with a strong argument that we need to see not only AI as a threat to deal with—the pose taken by his predecessor, Kamala Harris—see it as an engine of opportunity.
Mr. Vance talks about technology, like someone who doesn’t need a child to help him reset his Wi-Fi password. This is something that is said for one of our political leaders, and only one aspect that separates him from most senior officials in Washington. His remarks in Paris show that a new generation of leadership in a political party in the United States focuses on the issues that shape our future, not just reshape the political battles of the past.
If the 2024 presidential election is burdened by the elderly fighting for their respective legacies, then Mr. Trump chose the first millennial campaign partner, which actually does something refreshing. As a poll, I see voters’ desire for fresh energy and thought comes from fear that our politics will stagnate and fall into the status quo.
That’s why I asked Mr. Trump directly this week whether he saw Mr. Vance as his successor in 2028 and answered that he didn’t. He praised Mr. Vance for his “excellent work”, but he believed it was “too early” to anoint him as the next Republican nominee.
While it is understandable that Mr. Trump focuses on his current presidency and present, it is too early and too early. Mr. Vance is a natural successor to the movement established by Mr. Trump, with a keen grasp of many of Mr. Trump’s supporters, especially his young supporters, both in style and in substance.
Ten years ago, after Republicans were bombed among young voters in back-to-back elections, I wrote a book about the problems the party has reached with millennials. I call on Republicans to appear in new places where we get information, to care about new places that are relevant to culture, and to connect on forward-looking issues that young people really care about.
Ultimately, after years of hard work to attract young voters, Republicans, who prevailed by Trump, were attracted almost with Democrats and voters under the age of 30. Donald Trump’s re-election has achieved all of this. Even if many young Americans still differ dramatically from the Republicans on many issues, the improvements of Republicans to young voters in the poll data I have seen are undeniable. In sports events, the podcasts that are ubiquitous on the podcast tour are embraced by familiarists on topics such as tech lights and crypto poets, Republicans say they feel “cool” for the first time in a long time.
While the pendulum may swing again as before, the past Republicans have not returned. Only move forward, only what follows is the next, and Mr. Vance seems obviously the next step for the Republicans. As a young American who also happens to be Vice President, Mr. Vance was able to blend part of Mr. Trump’s style approach and policy agenda and blend with the feeling of the future with the next generation’s attractive and lasting rights to the Republic Party voters.
Start with style: Both Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance exudes unapologetic battles Republicans like. Gen Z grew up in the political era, and with the efforts of the Internet’s replacement knife, Mr. Vance honed and presented news from young voters on podcasts, social media and other platforms.
But even in the realm of traditional media, Mr. Vance likes to enter hostile territory, making offline content cause fires online. For example, Margaret Brennan of CBS News challenged a recent interview with the threat or lack of threat posed by Afghan refugees, to which Mr. Vance replied: “I am really The line triggered a thousand “I don’t really care, Margaret, I don’t want that person in my country, and I think most Americans agree with me.” Memes, frustrating young conservatives about their own views. His debate on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz is equally the same, making it possible for Republicans to be about when Trump’s views are spread through messengers with greater attention.
But there are some things to do for those who find less attractive in political warfare. Mr. Vance’s journey from a turbulent childhood to an elite law school, writing a best-selling memoir and rapidly rising in the political stage at a young age was a path that Americans had previously accepted. Mr. Vance’s lovely family, warm and normal, his little ones came down from Air Force Two in pea coats and pajama pants, offering other things to raise small children, even if they strongly oppose Mr. Vance’s policies or mean policies.
Then there is a material, a conservative, populist, with a focus on future issues. Mr. Vance’s time in the tech industry has made him more fluent, and these questions will define young Americans throughout their lives, from artificial intelligence to cryptocurrencies and beyond.
Mr. Vance also made a stance on American engagement around the world, which is more suspicious of the value of spreading American blood and treasures abroad, which is more closely aligned with young Republicans and other young Americans. Mr. Vance’s populist economic rhetoric coincides with generations of people who have never been strongly convinced of the virtues of freedom and unrestricted capitalism, which makes the workers’ rights take seriously, against all kinds of elites Be skeptical.
Some Democrats may like the idea of confronting Mr. Vance in 2028. He accepted the part of the Trump agenda that made Blanch, the other Republican leader. It is unclear whether Mr. Vance will receive the same pass from voters as Mr. Trump does in his offensive statement, like his incredible “Childless Cat Lady” remarks. But so far, whenever Mr. Vance has been slammed for his critics’ irresponsibility, it shows no signs of showing Republicans shake. His position among Republican voters remains strong, with 85% of whom have a good view of him. It is worth noting that for those who see themselves as “Trump first” Republicans, his favor is almost equally strong because those who see themselves as “partisan first” Republicans.
When I write about Republicans and young voters, President Trump’s position will be totally incredible, so I predict political predictions in a humble capacity. Republicans have no strong modern record of the Vice President’s modern record, becoming the party’s presidential candidates – just ask Dan Quille, Dick Cheney and Mike Pence. The people who work under Trump are not always coming from unscathing experiences. Four years are political eternity, and if the United States finally concludes that the Trump rave administration fails, the Republicans may turn to the page.
But, so far, many voters are like the direction the administration is moving, and Mr. Vance is finding his moment, just as he did at the AI conference to show how he is different from our recent generation of presidents. Mr. Trump may think it’s too early to be the successor, but he finds himself more suited to the spirit he’s trying to achieve than any other Republican in fact.
Mr. Vance shows most of what Mr. Trump’s core supporters love today – a desire for battle, apathy for criticism, a populist posture – the ability to definitely evolve into Republicans after Mr. Trump leaves the stage , what Republicans want.
Kristen Soltis Anderson is a well-known opinion writer, a Republican pollster and a “Self-photographed Voting: Millennials Leading America (and How Republicans Keep Up) author”.
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