In 2008, John McCain was running for president against former President Barack Obama. Like all candidates battling for the oval office, he had to choose a potential vice-president. It turns out he made a mistake choosing former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.
Palin has now found herself in a new race: “Who is the worst VP choice?” Her opponent is now former President Donald Trump’s pick, Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
If you would’ve asked someone at the beginning of the year if that was possible, they likely would’ve looked back to 2008 and said, “There’s no way.” Now, according to ABC News, Vance is less popular than Palin. As USA Today’s Rex Huppke said, “Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, please turn in your crown.”
Similar to the McCain campaign, Trump would’ve benefited in picking a conservative that leaned more in the middle of the political spectrum, rather than Vance, who is a bit more extreme than Trump — who is already seen as an extreme Republican candidate.
Instead, both McCain and Trump picked candidates that may deter voters with their choice of extremist.
Whether Trump believes it or not, he does need the votes of independents and younger voters.
Vance wasn’t even Republicans’ top choice for a VP pick. Only 3% of Republicans would’ve chosen Vance, according to YouGov. About 40% of non-MAGA Republicans either don’t know how they feel about him, think it’s a somewhat bad idea to have him as the pick or think it’s a really bad idea.
At the time, Palin’s fall was unprecedented, but mistakes were made and most political hopefuls learned the lesson. However, it seems Trump hasn’t.
Trump will do what Trump wants to do, but I do find it surprising that the same man who fired so many people from his administration is letting Vance get away with dragging his campaign down.
Palin took the spotlight away from McCain during their run. Vance may be doing the same. Like most candidates returning to office, Trump has a reputation as a president, whether it be good or bad. Trump’s successes are cast aside with Vance as a pick, because now the media is focused on his “unique” way with words, instead of policies and goals for the second term in office.
He should also be using this platform to emphasize his own goals as vice president. Instead, he is seemingly trying to mimic Trump’s behavior of taking cheap shots at opponents. They could’ve made somewhat of a good team if Vance took a separate approach to educating voters on what they’d do together in office or even educating them on who he is as a person since he is lesser known than other potential VP picks.
Maybe Trump is too big-headed to admit that this pick was the wrong one. Maybe he can’t find someone as loyal as Vance. No matter the reasons, he might be letting history repeat itself, and it could cost him the election.
