J.D. Vance’s weird, anti-woke punchline fell flat at his own sleepy speaking event on Monday.
Vance held a rally at his former high school in Middletown, Ohio, where hundreds gathered to hear the missives of Donald Trump’s newly-minted vice presidential candidate. But, even as a hometown hero, the Ohio senator suffered some brutally awkward moments.
“It is the weirdest thing to me: Democrats say that it is racist to believe—well, they say it’s racist to do anything,” said Vance. “I had a diet Mountain Dew yesterday, and one today. I’m sure they’re probably gonna call that racist, too.” Around the room there were some scattered laughs.
Yep. He is dialed in to the right-wing grievance politics message. You and I may think he sounds like an idiot but to the “my gender is attack/helicopter” crowd he generally hits all the notes perfectly.
But that’s the problem. He doesn’t bring anything outside of those who are already 100% tuned in.