JD Vance tests 2028 message in Weatherford

Vice President JD Vance stood on a stage in Weatherford, Texas, on Thursday to attack a Democratic Senate candidate. He targeted James Talarico, a candidate in the race for the Texas Senate seat. Vance told the crowd that Talarico had said he needed to grapple with his masculinity and his whiteness. Vance laughed and told the audience that the good news was there was not much to grapple with. The crowd cheered at the remark.

Vance gave this speech on the same afternoon that President Donald Trump spoke in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Both leaders were on the road to rally voters before the midterm elections. Vance’s style differed from the president’s. He spoke like a practiced politician rather than a comedian. His speech included familiar themes from the Trump era. He insulted an opponent’s manhood and promised a return of American greatness. These themes offer a preview of his potential presidential campaign in 2028.

Vance often describes a positive view of America from his youth. During a speech in North Carolina this week, he mentioned the sense of pride and unity Americans felt after September 11, 2001. He also discussed his childhood football teams. He said local small businesses used to sponsor those teams. He told a crowd in Howell, Michigan, that he remembered looking at his old jerseys. He noted that the names of the sponsors were businesses that no longer exist. He said those businesses were casualties of politicians in a faraway place who did not care about Michigan or Ohio.

Vance uses these stories to argue that his populist politics can restore a traditional vision of America. He also focuses heavily on cultural issues. He spoke about racial harmony in his youth. He said that children from working-class Black and white families played football together and cheered for one another. He claimed those children never worried about the color of their skin or who had more privilege. He described this as a time before the current cultural debates began.

Vance’s message packages the anti-woke stance of the Trump years in a more traditional way. He has also experimented with rougher language. In the Texas speech, he told the crowd he was sweating his balls off at the podium. He occasionally drops swear words to connect with the audience.

Vance faces a challenge in promoting Republican candidates while serving an unpopular president. This is difficult where the president’s policies have caused economic pain. Vance rarely mentions the Iran war in his speeches. That conflict caused gas and diesel prices to rise sharply. Instead, he frames high gas prices as a recurring result of global politics. He told a crowd in Montana that gas prices skyrocketed when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. He said they were higher then than they are today. He also cited spikes in 1979, 2001, and 2007 as examples of what happens when foreign leaders cause trouble.

He has also addressed the high price of beef. He blames the cost on consolidation among meatpackers. He avoids mentioning that Trump’s policies have angered beef producers. Vance intersperses his campaign speeches with appearances as the head of the president’s anti-fraud task force. That group aims to find malfeasance in social safety net programs.

The task force gives Vance material for his resume and his personal story. He told a crowd in Cincinnati last week that he worked as a cashier at a grocery store for two years. He said his first job was at Dhillon Foods, about 20 miles from where they stood. He noted that many members of his family benefited from federal food benefit programs. Vance first entered politics through his memoir about growing up in poor, rural southern Ohio.

His biography gives him tools that Trump does not have. He can speak personally about military service and economic hardship. Trump’s crowds loved him for his bombast and unfiltered anger. A future 2028 Republican candidate must figure out how to follow Trump’s long performance. They must decide what can replace that in the hearts of GOP voters.