Was JD Vance a mistake?

Former President Trump's choice for his running mate during the RNC was bold. Young candidate JD Vance seemed to cement the GOP's path for the future.

However, in the weeks after he was chosen, Vance brought the wrong kind of attention to the Trump campaign. He moved it away from the black and working-class voters it hoped to attract.

Perhaps his most famous mishap was an old video from an interview with then-Fox anchor Tucker Carlson, in which he called Democrat women "childless cat ladies."

Still, that was not the only scandal: his call for giving parents more voting rights than Americans with no children was mocked by Democrat lawmakers as "odd."

His proposal to raise taxes on those without kids also offended some Republicans. According to the NY Times, Dave Portnoy, one of the internet's most prominent Trumpers complained about it.

A week after his nomination, Vance trended on X for all the wrong reasons: a tweet with a false quote from his 2016 memoir 'Hillbilly Elegy' claimed he had intercourse with a couch.

According to the NY Times, the Harris campaign resurfaced most of Vance's videos and quotes.

Officials told the newspaper that they were responsible for around 60%. Republicans like Marco Rubio have caught on to that.

According to the NY Times, Rubio, also shortlisted as a VP option, said the attacks would have come no matter who Mr. Trump decided as a running partner.

However, JD Vance has lifted some specific doubts that other candidates wouldn't have, and his participation in the campaign has been underwhelming.

One of Vance's viral clips was from a rally after he was chosen as VP candidate. He attempted a joke about Democrats perceiving everything as racist but ended up bumbling about diet Mountain Dew.

According to CNN, voters are not so sure about Vance either: his favorable rating immediately after nomination was -6 points, while the average for a new VP nominee has been 19 points since 2000.

Aside from the viral videos and internet myths, Vance seems to appeal to Trump's more radical base instead of a broader option. He is also young and has little experience.

In fact, according to NBC News' recount of how the former president chose Vance, his first choice was North Dakota governor Doug Burgum.

Burgum's milder personality wouldn't have overtaken the presidential candidate's spotlight. He would have also moderated the image of the former Presidents to independent voters.

According to the outlet, Mr. Trump consulted with his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, who fiercely opposed Mr. Burgum and insisted on Vance. They ultimately changed their father's mind.

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