Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance gave a head-turning response Thursday evening in an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham on the subject of potentially becoming Donald Trump’s 2024 running mate and possible vice president.
OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
“Well, Laura, I have actually never spoken to the president about V.P. Speculation. My simple answer is I want to help him however I can. If he asks me, of course I would think seriously about it. It would be a great honor,” Vance began.
“I also am happy to support the agenda in the United States Senate, and regardless, Laura, you have to remember my job is to serve the people of Ohio. Whether it’s supporting Trump’s agenda in the Senate or serving in some other role, we have got to bring good manufacturing jobs and prosperity to the people of Ohio and the American heartland,” he continued.
“For 40 years bipartisan consensus to ship jobs overseas to bring unchecked migration. Trump stopped that. And the real question for the Republican party is whether we follow that lead and double down on that winning agenda or do we try to go back to the old ways and, unfortunately, Laura, as you know as well as I do, there is a critical component of the old guard of the Republican party that wants to go back to the old ways, more immigration, more war, less good wages for American workers,” Vance said.
He added: “Thank god Trump is there to push back against it.”
HUGE: Trump ally Sen. J.D. Vance talks about being his VP. pic.twitter.com/RccM7lWCCs
— USA Features Media (@UsaFeatures) April 12, 2024
Last year, Vance was clearly upset with “anonymous” U.S. military officials who spoke to a left-leaning media outlet about Fox News’ ouster of Tucker Carlson.
Politico interviewed several senior officials from the US Department of Defense, who expressed satisfaction with Carlson’s departure from the network’s prime-time show.
The officials reportedly said “good riddance” and expressed relief that Carlson could no longer use his show to criticize the Pentagon.
“We’re a better country without him bagging on our military every night in front of hundreds of thousands of people,” one anonymous official remarked.
“Good riddance,” said a second DoD official.
Carlson “made a mockery” of the free press and “repeatedly cherry-picked department policies and used them to destroy DoD as an institution,” said the first senior DoD official.
Asked to respond to the news that DoD officials are pleased by his departure from Fox, Carlson responded by text message: “Ha! I’m sure.” He declined to comment further, Politico reported.
None of that sat well with Vance, who, Mediaite reported, criticized the officials for speaking to the press about Carlson’s departure, writing on Twitter that “every ‘senior Pentagon official’ who commented on this story while hiding behind anonymity is a coward.”
“Call me old fashioned, but senior military officials should maintain neutrality about hot button political topics. And they certainly shouldn’t run to one media outlet to gossip—anonymously—about another,” he noted further.
Call me old fashioned, but senior military officials should maintain neutrality about hot button political topics. And they certainly shouldn’t run to one media outlet to gossip—anonymously—about another.
— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) April 26, 2023