Why Trump VP pick J.D. Vance is dogged by couch sex memes – and struggling in general
- Vance faces the worst polling of any non-incumbent US presidential running mate in decades, and some Republicans fear he was a bad choice
Nearly two weeks after former US president Donald Trump selected J.D. Vance to be his running mate, it is safe to say the Ohio senator is struggling.
His polling is the worst of any non-incumbent vice presidential nominee in decades. His years-old comments about “childless cat ladies” have drawn widespread disgust. Some in Trump’s orbit worry they have made the wrong choice. In recent days, he has been the target of a baseless rumour that he once had sex with a couch.
It was always clear that Vance brought little to the table, strictly electorally speaking. He does not represent a swing state, he does not diversify the ticket, and the selection of a MAGA true believer does not reassure more Trump-sceptic voters.
He was the choice of a campaign that was brimming with confidence. US President Joe Biden had not yet dropped out of the race, and Trump’s team probably made the choice with the idea that they did not need the boost that other vice-presidential contenders could have brought to the ticket, choosing instead to select an heir to the Make America Great Again movement.
What was less predictable was the significant headwinds that Vance is now encountering as the Republican Party’s vice-presidential candidate, which have been driven by the way he has talked about certain policies and enabled by the simple fact that most Americans are just now learning who he is.
According to an AP-NORC poll conducted in the days before Vance was selected, 60 per cent of Americans said they did not know enough about the Ohio senator to have an opinion about him. Twenty-two per cent had an unfavourable opinion, while just 17 per cent had a favourable opinion.
