From Never Trumper to MAGA: Vance Pitches Populism in RNC Speech

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) accepted the Republican vice presidential nomination and gave a speech at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday, drawing media perspectives.

‘Obama-esque’: Jim Geraghty (Lean Right) bias of National Review (Right bias) wrote that “Vance’s speech was Obama-esque in its ability to take ideas that are controversial or divisive and make them sound full of common sense.” Though Geraghty said he disliked the speech himself, he said Vance “masterfully delivered” messaging around the themes of “protectionism, populism, nationalism, industrial policy, and quasi-isolationism.”

GOP Overhaul: Oren Cass of Financial Times (Center bias) wrote that Vance’s speech was “unlike anything heard from the podium of a Republican National Convention in a generation” and that the party is distancing itself from “the libertarian and neoconservative appendages that have so badly disfigured conservatism.” Cass noted that Vance called today’s Republican Party a “big tent” and that this “new conservatism… offers the first plausible shot in decades of returning the Republican Party to a durable governing majority.”

‘Populist Pitch’: Eric Cortellessa of Time Magazine (Lean Left bias) highlighted Vance’s populist messaging as in line with Trump’s political brand and evidence that he is trying “to preserve Donald Trump’s brand of right-wing populist nationalism.” Cortellessa noted that Vance was previously a Never Trumper and conveniently ignored this in his speech while doubling down on MAGA rhetoric.