Democrats immediately attack Vance as an abortion extremist and Trump loyalist

Biden’s campaign had secretly hoped for weeks that Trump would pick Vance, according to two Biden allies who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Vance was a staunch opponent of Trump in 2016 and for much of his first term before dramatically reversing course and supporting Trump and his highly restrictive abortion policies ahead of his 2022 Senate run.

Both the Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee immediately began trying to raise money with Monday’s announcement – an effort that continued into Tuesday – and released a barrage of videos and past statements on X and other social media platforms highlighting Vance’s extreme positions. The DNC spent months researching and searching for past videos of everyone being discussed as a possible vice presidential candidate, one of the Biden allies said, and focused on Vance when he appeared to emerge as the favorite in recent weeks.

“Here’s the truth: JD Vance and Donald Trump share a guiding principle: themselves,” said an email from Biden’s campaign asking supporters for donations. “Vance repeats Trump’s baseless voter denial lies. He compared abortion to slavery and wants to ban abortion nationwide. And he called gun violence ‘fake problems’ and efforts to address them ‘a huge distraction.'”

The email also states: “JD Vance’s actions are proof that he will do whatever he can to push through Trump’s extreme agenda. Worse, we know Vance has a network of MAGA donors who will funnel even more money to Trump’s campaign.”

Some Democrats hoped that attacks on Vance could rejuvenate Biden’s campaign after a dangerous stretch after the president’s hesitant June 27 debate performance sparked fierce debate among Democrats over whether Biden should remain at the top of the ticket. Many Democratic lawmakers fear Biden cannot beat Trump and that he could cost Democrats control of the Senate and the chance to retake the House.

Democrats say Vance is unknown to most Americans, giving them the opportunity to “define” him as an unworldly MAGA extremist.

One theme of Democratic criticism is that by choosing Vance, Trump essentially chose a different version of himself and that his running mate shows a similar disregard for norms and a similar willingness to trample on traditions or institutions that run counter to his wishes.

Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One on Monday, Biden called Vance a “clone of Trump” on the issues, adding that he saw “no difference” between the two. The Biden team has made the same argument in numerous statements about Vance.

Still, David Axelrod, a former senior adviser to President Barack Obama, says that message may not be easy to get across at such a turbulent moment in American politics.

“Democrats are going to use this to amplify their concerns about Trump, and you saw the president try to do that last night,” Axelrod said. “The question is, given all the noise around the events of the last few weeks … will it make a difference? I don’t know the answer to that.”

He added: “There are bigger questions at play that will make much of this difficult to convey.”

The Biden organization paused its campaign advertising following the attempted assassination of Trump at his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, but the pause ended after Trump announced Vance as his running mate.

Democrats and Biden officials see a particular opportunity in Vance’s support for a nationwide abortion ban and his criticism of exceptions for rape and incest on the grounds that “two wrongs do not make a right.” They have also pointed to earlier statements from a leaked video in which Vance appeared to suggest that people should stay in marriages even if they are violent.

“Maybe it worked out for the moms and dads, although I’m skeptical. But it really didn’t work out for the kids from those marriages,” Vance can be heard saying in the 2021 video, apparently referring to divorce. A strategist for Vance later said the comments had been taken out of context.

The Biden team also argued that Vance would be willing to do what Trump’s former Vice President Mike Pence was not: overturn the election results. Vance also questioned whether Pence was in serious danger on Jan. 6, although Pence said Trump’s encouragement of the mob “put my family at risk.”

Widely seen as a rising star for Republicans because of his impoverished background – he grew up in Appalachia and his mother had drug problems – Vance, 39, wrote a memoir purporting to explain white working-class anger, turning him into a cable news personality and one of Trump’s most effective defenders.

Many Republicans believe the senator will be an impressive figure because of his intelligence, verbal agility and charismatic demeanor. Moreover, his views are consistent with Trump’s populism and therefore fit well into today’s Republican Party.

But Biden campaign officials and Democrats say Vance’s blunt answers to a range of policy questions also made it easier for them to link Trump to issues he has tried to abandon, including a nationwide abortion ban with no exceptions for rape and incest and cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

Republicans welcomed Vance’s nomination on Monday, saying Trump had cemented the future of his MAGA movement. The Trump campaign plans to use Vance in Pennsylvania and other key Midwestern swing states, including Michigan and Wisconsin, hoping his background will help win over crucial voters.

“JD’s background and some of his political views — he’s going to help us get into union households. His background and his comments — I’ve heard from his upbringing, he’s going to understand a lot of people who are under pressure right now,” Michigan GOP Chairman Pete Hoekstra said in an interview. “He’s very approachable.”

After Trump’s announcement, the Democratic National Committee quickly created a website, www.trump-vance-24.com, that focuses on Vance’s ties to Project 2025, an aggressively conservative agenda pushed by Trump’s allies. Democrats say Vance supports many elements of the plan and has ties to those who crafted it.

Opposition to Project 2025 has proven to be a powerful rallying cry for Democrats. It calls for, among other things, dismantling the Department of Education, passing sweeping tax cuts, imposing harsh abortion restrictions, expanding White House influence over the Justice Department and federal employees, and scaling back efforts to curb climate change.

The DNC has put up billboards in Milwaukee designed to further involve Vance in Project 2025, particularly on abortion, taxes and social welfare policies.

“He is the personification of Project 2025,” said one campaign official, adding that the Biden team plans to continue making that argument. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss plans not yet made public, pointed to Vance’s ties to the Heritage Foundation, the conservative group that runs the project.

Ben Wikler, chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, pointed to Vance’s comment to Newsmax that Project 2025 “contains some good ideas.” “We know that these are not only bad, they are dangerous,” Wikler said.

Senator Cory Booker (DN.J.), a Biden deputy, also attacked Vance’s reversal of Trump policy: In 2016, he described himself as “Never-Trump” and is now keeping quiet about whether he would certify the 2025 election result if Trump does not win.

“The choice of JD Vance concerns me for this reason: It represents a stark contrast – not between Republicans and Democrats, but between President Trump’s first vice president, Pence, and his current vice president,” Booker said at a press conference organized by the Biden campaign just blocks from the Republican convention venue.