Being the running mate on Donald Trump's presidential ticket has always required a certain flexibility with truth and accuracy.

But U.S. Sen. JD Vance, the Republican from Ohio now running to be Trump's next vice president, stretched the truth well beyond the breaking point twice this month while introducing the former one-term president at rallies.

Vance, in both speeches, echoed the conspiracy theories that cropped up right after Trump survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania last month.

"They" are the new villain in Trump world, as in "they tried to kill him." But who are "they"? The speeches provide plenty of clues, even as the Trump campaign dodged my attempt to get clarification on who Vance was talking about.

Vance, while introducing Trump at a rally in North Carolina last week, cast his would-be boss in Trump's favorite role: as a victim. See if you can count up the lies and distortions with me.

"He traded everything for an unjust persecution, for slander, for scorn, so that we could save the United States of America. Now they couldn't beat him at the ballot box, so they tried to bankrupt him. They failed at that, so they tried to impeach him. They failed at that. So they tried to put him in prison, and they even tried to kill him."

Spoiler alert: If you hadn't guessed by now, "they" are the Democratic Party. I tallied five lies in all that,........

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