An interesting detail overlooked since President-Elect Trump’s win earlier this month is the success of JD Vance as his Vice President. Not since Sarah Palin has a relatively unknown and yet folksy candidate made it so far in the populist wing of the Republican party.
His impact on the American landscape is not yet as commonplace as his predecessor’s, and Kamala Harris set a high bar for what’s expected from a successor. Her campaign, albeit a late-run, still managed to touch in with Democrat voters and put across a lot of points.
In previous administrations, the success of a Vice President is set against the record of their senior partner, who takes prominence in the most powerful political office in the world. This time around, it looks as though self-starters are able to make a go of it too.
Vance himself is able to articulate a point well. His first book, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, has been in The New York Times bestsellers list for 85 weeks, an impressive feet in a country that prides itself on a literary culture of fact and fiction.
However, the practice of politics is often won or lost in person as voters confront their representatives, and leaders in power. This is where he may find it more difficult to navigate people’s thoughts and opinions. It’s not simple backing Trump, let alone being at his side.