A speech tailored to the voters he must win: Vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance packs the Republican convention

“Many Americans recognize themselves in Vance.”

American reporter Bjorn Sonnes saw a “huge magic act” by Vance talking about his life. “A lot of Americans recognize themselves in that.” That’s a big difference from Trump’s life.

According to Sonens, Vance also made a “rhetorically clever move” by tying everything that has gone wrong in recent decades to Biden, noting that Biden agreed to many of these things when he was a senator.

“I think he did a very good job.” Vance also rarely spoke about the issues that caused so much conflict. “He wasn’t talking about Ukraine, he wasn’t talking about Israel, he wasn’t talking about tax cuts for the rich. Vance is talking to the audience that Republicans want to appeal to, which is the working class.”

Foreign journalist and American VRT NWS expert Bert de Vroy also found Vance “easygoing and friendly,” but found him “not really engaging.” “I didn’t think he had much personality. You could tell he had the charm of a nice, good-natured animator for a cruise ship company.”

DeFroy also found Vance to be a bit cocky, “and you have to watch that, because as Trump’s vice president you can’t ask for much attention.” Overall, DeFroy saw few surprises, though “his personal background helps reinforce and frame the Trump message.”

DeFroy also points to Vance’s role in the upcoming presidential election. “He needs to bring the battleground states in the Rust Belt.” That’s why “in his language he’s sometimes been left-wing and certainly anti-globalist.” “He’s done a good job of that.”