Sounds Like J.D. Vance’s V.P. Debate Prep Is Going as Well as Expected

J.D. Vance keeps claiming that he hasn’t done much—if anything—to prepare for Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate. During an interview on CNBC Tuesday, Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who has been standing in for Minnesota Governor Tim Walz during Vance’s practice sessions, was asked whether fact-checking Walz was part of Vance’s strategy.“I think J.D. Vance is going to concentrate on the issues that Americans care about the most,” Emmer replied. “Rather than getting into some high school debate, I think he’s going to be talking to the American people about what Donald Trump did in his first term with the economy, and the border, and safety and security around the world, what Harris and Biden have broken in the last four years, and how he and Trump are going to fix it,” Emmer said.It doesn't sound like Tom Emmer's prepping of JD Vance for tonight's debate went very well. What even is he talking about here? pic.twitter.com/2Zb1HJa2nn— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 1, 2024Here, Emmer perfectly demonstrated what is likely to be Vance’s strategy: to completely ignore the questions and instead deliver a dry stump speech. Emmer also had trouble responding to questions about Vance polling historically low for a vice presidential candidate.In what seems like an attempt to appear cool under pressure, the Ohio senator—who breathlessly repeated debunked claims of Haitian immigrants eating their neighbors’ pets—has separately said that his platform is so bulletproof he doesn’t even need to practice arguing it. “We have well developed views on public policy so we don’t have to prepare that much,” Vance said during a Teamsters press call Wednesday morning, according to Politico. “We feel a lot more confident, and frankly, you don’t have to prepare if you don’t have to hide what you say.”During a rally in North Carolina on Monday, Vance said that he was taking a page out of Donald Trump’s playbook by … not really doing anything at all. “What me and Donald Trump are going to keep on doing is going everywhere and talking to everybody,” Vance said. “We talk to the hostile media, we talk to the friendly media, we talk to the national media, we talk to the local media, and we do it because we think the American people deserve leaders who try to earn their vote instead of expecting it to be given to them.”Trump had made a similar comment ahead of his first presidential debate against Joe Biden.  “People say, ‘How are you preparing?’ I’m preparing by taking questions from you and others, if you think about it,” said Trump, while speaking to a conservative radio talk show host so friendly that he changed his profile picture to an image of himself and the former president after they spoke. 

Oct 1, 2024 - 18:00
Sounds Like J.D. Vance’s V.P. Debate Prep Is Going as Well as Expected

J.D. Vance keeps claiming that he hasn’t done much—if anything—to prepare for Tuesday night’s vice presidential debate. 

During an interview on CNBC Tuesday, Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who has been standing in for Minnesota Governor Tim Walz during Vance’s practice sessions, was asked whether fact-checking Walz was part of Vance’s strategy.

“I think J.D. Vance is going to concentrate on the issues that Americans care about the most,” Emmer replied. 

“Rather than getting into some high school debate, I think he’s going to be talking to the American people about what Donald Trump did in his first term with the economy, and the border, and safety and security around the world, what Harris and Biden have broken in the last four years, and how he and Trump are going to fix it,” Emmer said.

Here, Emmer perfectly demonstrated what is likely to be Vance’s strategy: to completely ignore the questions and instead deliver a dry stump speech. 

Emmer also had trouble responding to questions about Vance polling historically low for a vice presidential candidate.

In what seems like an attempt to appear cool under pressure, the Ohio senator—who breathlessly repeated debunked claims of Haitian immigrants eating their neighbors’ pets—has separately said that his platform is so bulletproof he doesn’t even need to practice arguing it. 

“We have well developed views on public policy so we don’t have to prepare that much,” Vance said during a Teamsters press call Wednesday morning, according to Politico. “We feel a lot more confident, and frankly, you don’t have to prepare if you don’t have to hide what you say.”

During a rally in North Carolina on Monday, Vance said that he was taking a page out of Donald Trump’s playbook by … not really doing anything at all. 

“What me and Donald Trump are going to keep on doing is going everywhere and talking to everybody,” Vance said. “We talk to the hostile media, we talk to the friendly media, we talk to the national media, we talk to the local media, and we do it because we think the American people deserve leaders who try to earn their vote instead of expecting it to be given to them.”

Trump had made a similar comment ahead of his first presidential debate against Joe Biden.  “People say, ‘How are you preparing?’ I’m preparing by taking questions from you and others, if you think about it,” said Trump, while speaking to a conservative radio talk show host so friendly that he changed his profile picture to an image of himself and the former president after they spoke.