Laura Ingraham, amid a stream of Democratic criticisms of JD Vance for being “weird,” sought to assure her Fox News primetime audience Tuesday night that the Republican vice presidential nominee is not only a “regular” guy, but “smart” and “fun.”
Vance, sitting down for a remote interview with Ingraham, was asked about his negative favorability rating, and how voters view his Democratic counterpart, who is seeing a positive one.
“There’s a gender gap for your ticket compared to Harris and Walz,” Ingraham also noted, before asking how he intends on persuading uncommitted voters that he actually has positive attributes.
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“How do you go to the undecideds at this point—the shrinking pool of people—and convince them that not only are you serious—and you’re seriously smart—but you’re a regular person?” the Fox host asked. “I have known you for a long time. You’re really fun, you’re really funny—versus the ‘giggle and vibe’ show that seems to work for a lot of women voters out there?”
Vance maintained that more face-time with voters is the key.
“My approach to this is just to get out there and meet as many people as possible. I know this is Donald Trump’s approach, too,” he said. “We don’t do the scripted stuff. We don’t only speak in front of the teleprompter. We actually like to get out there and give some unscripted remarks, some press conferences, and also just go out there and talk to people. That’s what I’m going to keep on doing, Laura.”
Yet it’s been Vance’s non-scripted remarks—that the “childless left” have “no physical commitment to the future of this country,” for instance—that have been fodder for Democrats’ “weird” accusations. As a result, Trump has been on his heels defending his ticket multiple times in recent weeks, claiming repeatedly that he and Vance are “not weird people.”
As for his subpar favorability rating, Vance said he didn’t read too much into it.
“I don’t put much stock in the polls—even the polls that show us ahead,” he said. “What I put stock in is the wisdom of the American people, and the fact that if we go out there, make our case, don’t hide behind the teleprompter but get out there and meet people, the American people are going to elect me and Donald Trump. I have no doubt about that.”
Also in the interview, Vance was asked about military recruiting shortfalls—and argued that those issues will only be exacerbated in a Harris administration.
“Nobody wants to put on a uniform and serve in Kamala Harris’ military,” Vance claimed.
“This is a person who wants the United States army to be about gender inclusion, ridiculous diversity politics instead of about serving your country and uniting together as Americans to serve on the same team and defend your nation.”
“If you are a person thinking about joining the military, you are probably not going to want to sign up if Kamala Harris is the potential commander-in-chief,” he reiterated moments later. “We know that we can have a strong military. We just need strong leadership, Laura, and I think if we want to fix that recruitment problem, the best thing we can do is re-elect Donald J. Trump. People trust his leadership.”
Trump’s recent trip to Arlington National Cemetery, a military cemetery, spurred controversy after his campaign filmed in an area that prohibited it. Not only that, but a member of his camp got physical with a staffer there instructing them on what wasn’t allowed.
The fallout from that story, Vance claimed then, was just manufactured by “the media.”
