Political division makes its mark more clear as this year’s U.S Presidential candidates have now chosen their running mates for the 2024 election. Donald Trump and the Republican party recently announced their candidate for Vice President will be Joshua D. Vance, a U.S Marine Corp Veteran from Middletown, Ohio. During his four years as a combat correspondent, including a 6 month tour in Iraq, Vance earned an Iraq Campaign Medal, a Marin Corps Good Conduct Medal, and a Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medal. He later attended both Ohio State University and Yale Law School, graduating as cum de la CLAUD with a bachelor of arts in political science and philosophy. Coming from a single mother who struggled with addiction, Trump has given open respect to Vance from what he considers to be a successful story coming from humble beginnings. Albeit he has a less decorated background than Kamala Harris’s candidate Tim Walz, he is praised by close peers as a family-oriented man who is well deserving of this opportunity. That praise is somewhat short lived in a strange twist of events that shows a stark contrast between the Vance supporting Trump today, and the Vance who openly disliked Trump in the past. Vance became the spotlight of political scrutiny overnight as people dive deep into his personal background. Even people of the Republican show slight hesitation in their support online, as it is now widely know that just six years ago Vance was one of the biggest Trump haters on twitter and Fox News. He spoke openly and frequently about his opinions against Trump’s policies, and decisions. Even going as far as labeling the then President as “America’s Hitler”. When asked about his sudden change of heart, Vance claims it was not a immediate 180 degree turn-around for him, but rather a slow realization that he and Trump actually do share the same vision for America. “There was no ‘eureka’ moment that changed my views on Trump. Rather, I gradually realized that my opposition to the former President was rooted in style rather than substance.” Vance spent a year undoing his damage against the Republican party and Trump himself, spending time, as he says, “embracing a new image as a leading MAGA proponent.” He was even spotted supporting Trump in court during his recent criminal trials. His apologetic strategy has clearly paid off as he is now Trump’s running mate for the upcoming Presidential election.
Trump at the Libertarian Convention
The Republican party has been working over-time to swing votes of both the Blue and undecided states. Trump spoke on behalf of himself and Vance at a recent Libertarian Convention. He was immediately booed by majority of the crowd before they eventually settled down to hear what the former President wanted to say. Taunting jabs were expectedly thrown at the current President, Joe Biden, but his thirty minute speech was a clear attempt to pull the wavering voters listening onto his side. From the very beginning the attendees raised signs that read, “Free Ross”; referring to Ross Ulbricht, a man who is facing a life sentence for creating a black market website. The site allows users to buy and sell drugs and illegal products like fake government documents. Libertarians care deeply about this particular case because they believe the government dug too far into Ulbricht’s personal life in order to prosecute him. Trump used that momentum in attempt to gain understanding and sympathy towards his recent criminal charges, where he believes the government dug too deep on his personal life as well to get those convictions against him. “We must fight for the same fundamental freedoms. Freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom over the right to own a fire arm, freedom over taxation. Freedom from over regulation. Freedom from government discrimination. We do not have a free country if we don’t have free speech. We are opposed to government tyranny and all of its many forms. We want the government out of our business, out of our wallets, and out of our lives.” The crowd in person and people’s responses online showed a mixed reaction of support, distaste, and confusion as some people pointed out that one of the promises Trump has been making in his reelection campaign is to ensure drug dealers are hit with the death penalty when convicted of distribution. Many participants believe it is hypercritical to claim Ulbricht’s innocence while simultaneously promoting the death sentence for people who commit the type of crimes Ulbricht has committed. Nevertheless, the Republican party hopes that Trump’s promised to put a Libertarian in his cabinet will help nudge the support of last minute decision makers.
The National Association of Black Journalist Conference
The National Association of Black Journalist (NABJ) Annual Convention is a DESCRIBE. This year the NABJ was hosted by Rachel Scott of ABC News, news anchor Harris Faulkner of Fox News, and moderated by Kadia Gaba Semafor, senior congressional co-responder of ABC News. MSNBC labeled Trump’s appearance there as “disastrous” and possibly harmful to the Republican campaign. What started as a welcoming interview ended up having several points of tension as Trump made controversial statements. When given the opportunity to clarify or apologize for his comment stating Presidential candidate Kamala Harris is a DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) hire for the Democratic party, he simply asked for the definition of DEI and moved on to a different topic. He surprisingly spoke on Harris’s Jamaican and Indian American heritage, claiming he doubts that she’s Black. A very bold statement to make in a room full of Black Journalists, especially since Harris has been very open about her multicultural background. “She was always been of Indian heritage and she was only promoting Indian heritage. I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black. Now she wants to be known as Black.” Trump made claims of inflation hurting the black community the most, and blamed Harris for his idea of immigrants taking “Black and Hispanic jobs”. His views on police immunity didn’t sit well with the audience either as he referred to many losses of lives during police encounters are due to officers being cautious, not from them having ill intentions; and made a plea for people to have more sympathy towards their split second decisions. When asked about his choice for Vice President, Trump stated, “he’s a very strong believer in work. In the working man and woman. And especially the working man and woman who have been treated very unfairly. Bc you have many of them, many of them in this room. He’s made himself an amazing life. He has my endorsement.”
Touring with the Republican Party
As election approaches, JD Vance and the rest of the Republican party are working tirelessly to spread their agenda, and hopefully gain the trust of those in swing states. At Vance’s first speech in front of the Republican National Committee, he first acknowledged Trump’s bravery by stating that instead of celebrating his season stepping into this potential new role as Vice President, they could have been morning Trump if the alleged assassination attempt against him was successful. He went on to speak of how their plan to improve America will be best accomplished by focusing on the working class and saving energy costs. Their framework includes gun ownership rights, making sure everyone is entitled to own and operate firearms at their own disclosure. Tightening up on immigration laws, ending abortions and gay marriage while also improving the nation’s structure by implementing Project 2025. Further revelation of his plans and ideology will be discussed during future televised debates. Vance agreed to debate Kamala Harris’s candidate for Vice President, Tim Walz October 1, 2024.
