A little more than 20 minutes after Sen. J.D. Vance appeared at a campaign rally in Charlotte, North Carolina on Monday, the real deal began.
“We’re a little behind schedule, so I won’t be taking as many questions as usual,” the senator from Ohio said, before friendly inviting local reporters to ask them anything they wanted. “If you have a microphone, shout out your questions and I’ll answer them.”
Typically, when campaigning candidates take questions from the press, they do so before and after an event, away from the crowd. Vance has such a gag, but he also developed an unusual routine that quickly became a trademark of his campaign events. He is used to parrying reporters’ questions in front of voters, turning them into set pieces with his performances. He himself is being portrayed as a belligerent, unscripted defender of former President Donald Trump, while his vociferous supporters tilt the playing field in his favor.
That night, when Nick Ochsner, a reporter for local station WBTV, began speaking — “I’d like to ask you about Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson,” he said, referring to the state’s struggling Republican gubernatorial candidate, the crowd began to rise. We started to gather. Ochsner was drowned out by boos, but he begged Vance’s supporters to let him finish. With a theatrical cough, Vance turned to the people behind him, knowing full well that they shared his anger.
Mr. Vance said, raising one hand, more like a parent giving the floor to a problem child than a vice presidential candidate answering legitimate questions.
Mr. Ochsner was endorsed by Mr. Trump after CNN reported that Mr. Robinson had made lewd and racist comments on a porn site, and campaigned with Mr. Trump and Mr. Vance in happier times. Mr. Robinson pointed out that he was not with Vance and pursued him further.
“Is there something about the comments that CNN exposed that disqualifies him, even though his previous comments didn’t?” Ochsner asked as the crowd jeered further.
“Is that the question?” Vance shot back before telling Ochsner that the Robinson issue was up to North Carolina voters.
innovative media strategy
Ochsner was just the first of several reporters heckled that night. As Mr. Vance asked more questions about Mr. Robinson, the upcoming vice presidential debate and false claims about immigration in Springfield, Ohio, the crowd booed the reporters. Vance, who has written for many publications including The New York Times and The Atlantic, lectured the journalists about their work.
“Journalism in this country is becoming more and more shameful,” he said at one point. “It’s about investigating the truth, and unfortunately too few reporters do that today.”
A mini-battleground during this campaign was whether or not candidates would respond to questions from reporters. Vance has criticized Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, for not doing enough interviews as Republicans claim, and has made his intention to do interviews part of his program.
Onstage press conferences are just one part of his media engagement, which also includes cable news interviews and sometimes combative print and radio interviews.
“Taking questions from the press at our event gives local journalists from all over the country the opportunity to ask questions of Senator Vance. , I think it’s strange that you’re criticizing our campaign for providing that opportunity.”Americans are taking advantage of their First Amendment rights,” Vance spokesman Luke Schroeder said. spoke.
Last week, Mr. Vance’s supporters booed a Wall Street Journal reporter who asked him about the Federal Reserve’s 0.5 percentage point interest rate cut. No matter how it plays out politically, this measure should help most voters’ wallets.
They mocked reporters for simply introducing themselves as working for news organizations such as the Arizona Republic and CNN. The campaign and its allies have sought opportunities to turn the exchange into a viral moment. For example, when one of the Trump campaign’s official accounts posted a video of a crowd booing after my colleague Chris Cameron asked Vance about reports of falling inflation.
By making his questions public, Vance is trying to express himself in contrast to Harris and Walz. But it’s also a way to turn campaign rallies into the format in which he’s strongest, while letting the audience do his dirty work for him.
After about two and a half months of campaigning, Vance hasn’t exactly become the king of thrilling stump speeches. His daily interactions with voters can be awkward. But the Ohio senator has long been an effective surrogate for Trump on cable news, able to turn rallies into interview sets by sparring with reporters, with staffers giving reporters microphones. This is a place where Mr. Trump can control the situation.
It puts the spotlight on the questioner rather than the person’s answer, but my colleague Michael Bender points out that it is often evasive.
He can dodge the crowd’s agitation. He has criticized the media and sometimes defended individual journalists who were being yelled at by the crowd.
“Kit is one of the fine guys, but if I say that, she’ll never be the same,” Vance said of CNN producer Kit Maher after receiving jeers from the crowd at a raucous election rally in Phoenix. will not be able to return to CNN.” She went on to ask what Vance and Trump, if elected, would do to prevent school shootings.
traverse city boos
In some cases, exchanges can put local communities at odds with reporters.
So did Peter Cobbs, staff writer for the Traverse City Record-Eagle, who asked Vance a question during Wednesday’s rally.
As soon as Mr. Cobbs introduced himself, the boos started.
“Yay, boos,” Cobbs said with a touch of sarcasm, before saying he was used to being booed.
“We’re having fun!” Vance said. “You can ask questions. They’re allowed to tell you what they think about it.”
Mr. Cobbs, 65, turned to a question about the high cost of housing in northern Michigan and said he appreciated Mr. Vance’s long and nuanced answer. He said in an interview that he didn’t really care about the boos. He even found it a little funny.
“I’ve received five death threats as a reporter,” Cobbs said. “It’s not at all unexpected to be booed at a political rally.”
“That’s good,” he added. “Because that means they care about what the newspaper reports.”
Pennsylvania prophecy and politics
Tomorrow, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance will be in Pennsylvania recording a radio show by self-proclaimed prophet Lance Wallnow, who claims former President Donald Trump was chosen by God. Although it’s a high-profile show, it’s nothing new for the Trump campaign. We asked Elizabeth Diaz, the national religion correspondent for The Times, to find out more.
JB: Elizabeth, let’s start with the basics. Please tell us a little about Lance Wallnow.
ED: Wallnow is an evangelical influencer from Dallas and a prominent figure in the Christian charismatic movement. He has gone from corporate marketer to celebrity prophet, applying his marketing skills to promote prosperity gospel teachings and products. He is particularly well known for his belief that Christians should influence and even control society, from politics to media, culture, and the economy.
Wallnow has traveled through battleground states on what he calls a “courage tour.” what is his message?
He has long viewed politics as a spiritual battle, and the tour is aimed at mobilizing Christian voters in battleground states against Trump. It is a tent revival style, combining worship and patriotism to bring about the Third Great Awakening and celebrate the victory of Jesus. Speakers include pastors and politicians who are trying to break down the wall of separation of church and state.
What is Wallnow’s history with Trump and Vance? Is it unusual for him to appear directly alongside one of them?
no! At this point, this is a decade-long trend. Mr. Wallnow was one of Mr. Trump’s early evangelical supporters in 2015, and his rise to power has boosted his profile. He praised President Trump as a modern-day King Cyrus. King Cyrus was an ancient Persian emperor praised in the Bible for liberating God’s people from captivity in Babylon.
You’ve written at length about the depth of evangelical support for Trump and how it’s fused with political extremism. What does Wallnow’s role today tell us about conservative Christian support for Trump and Vance in 2024?
There is no doubt that their support remains strong, and it could determine Trump’s presidential chances in November. But this weekend shows how a once fringe movement has been thrust into the mainstream.
Ten years ago, people like Wallnow were at the forefront of Republican politics. Now they appear in the center.
Read past editions of the newsletter here.
If you like what you’re reading, please consider recommending it to others. You can sign up here.
