Though we knew at some point it was coming, the last thing people were thinking about in the immediate aftermath of the first assassination attempt on GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump on July 13th was who he would pick as his vice presidential running mate.
But make it he would have to do and soon, considering the Republican National Convention was the following week.
Many names had been bandied about ahead of Trump’s eventual announcement, including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI), North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.
But on Day One of the RNC, the former president announced via his Truth Social account that Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) was his VP pick, and from that point forward, a lot of folks outside of Ohio who didn’t know much about Vance set about getting to know him better, asking questions about his record and what he potentially could bring to a national ticket – and the country if elected.
I admit that beyond watching him run a close-to-flawless 2022 Senate campaign against Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), I didn’t follow Vance too closely after his election victory. The reason why is I’ve learned not to expect much out of first-term politicians at least for the first year or so as they learn the ropes, get to know the players in the game, how to get things done, etc.
What I did see from him impressed me, though: his willingness to play hardball with Attorney Gen. Merrick Garland over DOJ nominees in response to their lawfare tactics against Trump, his introduction of a bill to ban federal mask mandates, and his bill to punish sanctuary cities for “undermining border security” are all part of the highlight reel of his first two years in the Senate.