Alternate headline: Vance Didn’t Play Nice — Refused to Adopt Media Caricature.
J.D. Vance’s demeanor on stage in the Vice Presidential debate on Tuesday could not have surprised anyone that has watched him before and/or after entering politics. Heck, it didn’t differ at all in tone or style from his acceptance speech at the RNC national convention in August. While the media has tried to keep Vance on the defensive for some controversial comments he’s made in the past, Vance has never come across as a “fire breather” on stage.
The media certainly has painted Vance that way, however. And perhaps the real takeaway from this Axios scooplet is that Tim Walz and his campaign are dumb enough to buy into it:
Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) went into the vice-presidential debate with a plan to surprise Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz by being shockingly … super-duper nice.
Why it matters: It worked. The…
