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JD Vance isn't just thin-skinned — he thinks whining is a winning political strategy

12 58
01.10.2024

To know Sen. JD Vance is to dislike him. The Ohio Republican was relatively unknown to most Americans before Donald Trump picked him as a running mate, and few, if any, politicians have garnered such a negative reaction in such a short period. It's not just his rants about "childless cat ladies." Focus groups show that voters are well aware that, while Vance publicly praises Trump like he's a god, he talks smack about his boss behind his back. But I suspect, like Heather "Digby" Parton wrote at Salon Monday, "his nasty, cold personality" is a factor in Vance's unpopularity.

Vance can't seem to speak without whining. Every interview with him is a grievance-fest where he plays the victim of "the media," lies while falsely accusing his opponents of lying, and acts put out by inconsequential nonsense. He's as full of self-pity as Trump. Vance can be even more aggravating because, by all accounts, has a great life well beyond what he deserves: a beautiful family he doesn't appear to appreciate, a Senate seat purchased for him by a tech billionaire, and millions of dollars, despite not offering any real value to society or the economy.

Vance's tendency to whine ad nauseam has not gone unnoticed. Jess Bidgood of the New York Times wrote a report Friday of how Vance reacts to even the most minor press questions with a torrent of complaining, such as when a local TV station reporter asked Vance about Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, whose Republican campaign for North Carolina's gubernatorial seat has been gone up in smoke after it was revealed he bragged about being a "black NAZI."

“I knew I’d get this,” Vance said, throwing one hand up with the air of a parent allowing a troublesome child to have his say, instead of a candidate for vice president answering a reasonable question.

As Bidgood notes, Vance reacts to practically........

© Salon


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