What does J.D. Vance mean for the future of the GOP?

Donald Trump’s decision to make Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) his running mate is significant not just because he will be his ticket-balancing, ribbon-cutting sidekick, but also because the former president has sharply changed the direction of the party — and is now trying to consolidate it into its enduring future form. Given that Trump is 78, there is also an unusually high risk that Vance will actually end up sitting in the Oval Office sometime in the next four years.

So I asked my colleagues Ramesh Ponnuru and Jason Willick: What does this choice mean for the future of the party?

Megan McArdle: What does this choice mean, not just for the GOP today but for the GOP to come?

Jason Willick: Vance, at 39, is exactly half Trump’s age. Definitely a generational change, but one that signifies a continuity in terms of the party’s trajectory toward populism and noninterventionism. Another observation: Since the assassination attempt, Trump has been sending signals about the importance of unity. The Vance pick doesn’t project unity either within the party or outside it; it reassures the base that his campaign will remain aggressive and confrontational.