by Eric Lendrum
There is no doubt that the events of Saturday, July 13, 2024, were monumental by virtue of how close we came to the course of our history being altered for the worst. No one understands that better than President Trump himself, who is now determined to shape our destiny for the better and on his terms.
As such, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance’s selection as vice president shows that, while President Trump is undoubtedly shaken by a not-too-distant past, he is already looking toward the future.
Another All-American Story
Vance’s meteoric rise, from a small-town kid who grew up in poverty to possibly becoming the next Vice President of the United States, is the American Dream in its purest and most glorious form. As detailed in his captivating memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, the young Vance did not grow up in privilege or luxury. As a child, he witnessed firsthand the rot and decay of the once-vibrant American working class, hollowed out by economic outsourcing and poisoned by the spread of drugs.
But through hard work and raw determination, a number of opportunities arose for him to reach the top of the mountain. After serving in the Marines, he climbed the ranks of society, attending Yale Law School before earning his own wealth as a venture capitalist. It wasn’t an easy life to adjust to, as evidenced by one particularly relatable anecdote when the young Vance knew nothing about the etiquette of a white-tie dinner.
For many such success stories, the memoir and its subsequent feature film adaptation would be the zenith of their careers. But it was just the beginning of Vance’s. Like a certain billionaire businessman, Vance made his first run for office with zero political experience. Despite initially being dismissed as a long-shot candidate, he went on to win the nomination in a landslide before winning the general election in a state that had once been considered the quintessential swing state.
And now, just two years after his first-ever political victory, Vance is on the doorstep of the second-most powerful position in the world.
Some have criticized Vance for his relatively new status on the national stage and lack of political experience. But his rapid rise despite these factors is exactly what the American Dream is all about: that anything is possible in America. Greatness from small beginnings. America is rich with stories of unbelievably fast-tracked political success, not the least of which includes a certain Republican from California who was elected vice president after just two years in the Senate and went on to achieve even greater levels of success later on.
But Vance’s story is not just about his own life—from a childhood in poverty to fame and political success in just under four decades. His family name is representative of America’s rising, falling, and rising again, with family ties that trace back to the most pivotal moments in this nation’s history. As he states in the book, one of his distant ancestors was Jim Vance, a key figure in the infamous Hatfield-McCoy feud that spanned three decades during and after the Civil War.
In less than two centuries, a family that sees its lineage stretch from a notoriously bloody clan feud to national political power is nothing short of miraculous, for it would be impossible in just about any other nation besides the United States.
The Face of the New Right
J.D. Vance’s selection is proof that President Trump is well aware of exactly which voters make up the core of his base. Other finalists for the running mate nod, like the moderate Marco Rubio or the older Doug Burgum, would have been likely vice presidential nominees in past election cycles, when the likes of George W. Bush and Mitt Romney were the party’s standard-bearers.
But Vance is not a representative of the old-guard GOP that once tried to tack to the left on immigration or relied on empty platitudes about coming from a “small town.” Vance is, most simply, a symbol of the white working-class voters who proved to be the primary reason for Trump’s first victory in 2016. He hails from the heart of the Rust Belt that gave Trump the presidency in the first place; his home state of Ohio, once considered a swing state that twice voted for Barack Obama, is now a solidly red stronghold thanks to President Trump’s working-class populism.
On the one hand, Vance aligns perfectly with Trump on core issues such as immigration. But Vance’s embrace of unions and protecting workers’ rights, while not traditionally “conservative,” has paid off in expanding the MAGA base even further, earning him praise from the likes of Teamsters President Sean O’Brien.
This is where Vance’s previous opposition to Trump actually proves to be a strength of his, not a weakness. Yes, Vance did not originally support Trump in 2016. But how many people in Trump’s camp today were not in favor of him back then? If the only criteria for a running mate was sheer loyalty from the very beginning, the list would be much smaller, and Trump would have to pick someone like Ben Carson or Michael Flynn.
Similarly, Trump’s voter base would be rather small if it were reduced to just those who were with him from the very beginning. But there are many voters who share Vance’s political journey from anti-Trump to fiercely pro-Trump, and they are just as crucial to victory in November as the longtime loyalists.
All the Right Enemies
If there still remains any doubt as to Vance’s newfound loyalty to President Trump and the America First agenda, just look at those who are the most infuriated by his selection. The mainstream media has long been trying to paint Vance as somehow being even “more radical than MAGA,” with CNN’s Van Jones melting down in response to the announcement and calling the Ohio Senator “much more dangerous” than President Trump.
Just as telling as the left’s opposition to Vance is the equally vitriolic reaction from the RINO class. In response to the announcement, the most spineless Republican in Congress, Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah), said the following: “I don’t know that I can disrespect someone more than J.D. Vance.” Just like when Romney commented that the one other Republican candidate he would not vote for in 2024 was Vivek Ramaswamy, such a remark is a more effective endorsement than anything that could be offered up by most conservative figureheads.
Tucker Carlson noted this trend when he observed that “every bad person I’ve ever met in a lifetime in Washington was aligned against J.D. Vance.” When the left and fake Republicans alike are opposed to Vance, it is a clear sign that President Trump made the right choice.
The Next Generation of Nationalism
Above all else, the clearest reason for why Vance is the best possible choice can be found in the motivation that Trump had for selecting him in the first place. Rather than prioritizing loyalty or experience or checking off an arbitrary identity politics box, Trump chose Vance with an eye towards the future.
He has designated J.D. Vance to be his successor to the mantle of the America First movement.
Someone like Carson or Burgum would have made for a nice placeholder vice president, but they would not have had the energy or charisma necessary to present themselves as a leader and successor in their own right.
Vance is the ideal successor for two major reasons. First, he understands the America First agenda on a deep, philosophical level. From his memoir to his many speeches and interviews since skyrocketing to political fame, Vance has been better at articulating the ideology of national populism than most other dime-a-dozen talking heads or empty suits in Congress.
Donald Trump has understood nationalism from the perspective of a pragmatic businessman who realizes that it is the best solution to all of our problems. J.D. Vance, on the other hand, is the thinking man’s nationalist, who can clearly lay out the history of these ideas and why they are the only ones that work for the flagship of Western civilization.
The other major reason for Vance being the ideal pick is the youth. And this is not just in reference to his own youth, as the 39-year-old Vance is the first Millennial to ever be on a major party’s presidential ticket and could become the third-youngest vice president in American history come November. It is also because the youth of this country love J.D. Vance.
It has been noted that across Europe, for the first time in modern history, the youngest generations of voters are now trending towards so-called “far-right” parties. Similar observations have been made about Generation Z, or “Zoomers,” here in the United States, and at one of the most recent gatherings of young conservatives in the United States, they made their voices heard on the then-undecided question of Trump’s running mate.
At Turning Point USA’s massive conference in Detroit one month ago, a straw poll was held among attendees asking who their preferred vice presidential nominee would be. It wasn’t even close: Vance came in first with a staggering 43%, while the next-highest candidate, Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), got just 15.4%. The next generation of the right has spoken, and Trump heard them loud and clear.
Trumpism Beyond Trump
There has long been talk of “Trumpism without Trump,” most commonly heard from moderate Republicans who want nothing more than to move on from the Trump era and pretend that this revolutionary movement was simply a phase. These people give lip service to his America First agenda only in the dullest of speeches or most focus-tested of campaign ads, but when faced with other avatars of Trumpism, they react with just as much vitriol as they would against Trump himself.
But while the RINO class has undoubtedly been humiliated and defeated by Trump once again, the reality is that, one day, we will indeed have to rely on a form of Trump’s ideas that goes beyond the man who brought them to life. Now more than ever, no one is more aware of his own mortality than Trump himself; that is why it is imperative that the ideas live on through a worthy successor, acknowledging the irreplaceable influence of Donald Trump while building upon the work that he started.
Many other vice presidential candidates would have been the face of “Trumpism without Trump.” Vice President Vance will be the face of “Trumpism beyond Trump.”
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Eric Lendrum reports for American Greatness.
Photo “Donald Trump and JD Vance’ by Daniel Scavino Jr.
