Quick Breakdown on Trump's VP Pick, JD Vance

Updated July 22, 2024

• Last week, former President Donald Trump picked Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) as his running mate. Vance, who was once a critic of Trump, is the first millennial to join a major-party ticket.
• Trump said in a post on Truth Social:

"After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio."

Here is a quick breakdown of Vance's politics. 

Vance became a Senator in 2022, when he:

• Said he would back a national ban on abortion after 15 weeks.
• Opposed U.S. aid for Ukraine.
• Fought for train safety after the toxic train disaster in East Palestine in his home state.
• Joined the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, the Commerce Science and Transportation Committee, the Joint Economic Committee, and the Special Committee on Aging. 
• Said had he been vice president in 2020, he would not have certified the election. He said: 

"If I had been vice president, I would have told the states, like Pennsylvania, Georgia and so many others that we needed to have multiple slates of electors…and I think the U.S. Congress should have fought over it from there. That is the legitimate way to deal with an election that a lot of folks, including me, think had a lot of problems in 2020. I think that's what we should have done."

Updated July 8, 2024

• In the aftermath of the debate, leading Democrats have been pushing Biden to step out of the race and let another top Democrat run. Party members are questioning whether the 81-year-old is fit to serve another term. Leader of House Democrats, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), convened top committee members to discuss Biden's abilities. According to close sources, several Democrats, including Reps. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), Jim Himes (Conn.), and Mark Takano (Cali.) privately said that Biden should step aside. Five other Democratic lawmakers have firmly called on Biden to desert his reelection campaign. 
• In response, Biden has maintained that he will not drop out of the race. The president wrote in a letter to congressional Democrats that he is "firmly committed to staying in the race" and challenges other Dems to run against him. He is urging the party to stand as a united front, as stated during a Pennsylvania campaign stop. He said:

"I, honest to God, have never been more optimistic about America's future if we stick together."

• Despite the Biden campaign's damage control after the debate, a few Democrats have been highlighted as potential replacements if the president decides to step out of the race. Those include Vice President Kamala Harris, who could inherit Biden's campaign funds, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, Gov. Gretchen Witmer of Michigan, Gov. J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, or Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania. 

Highlights from the debate

• As anticipated, Thursday night's presidential debate focused more on personal attacks than policy-concerning discussions. Biden attacked Trump for his relations with adult film star Stormy Daniels, commenting that he "[has] the morals of an alley cat," while Trump went after Hunter Biden's criminal record and Biden's age and health, remarking that "[h]e can't hit a ball 50 yards."
• Analyses from the debate highlight Biden's delivery of rambling, softspoken answers and Trump's consistent falsehoods and misleading statements. Biden's age of 81 was apparent throughout the performance, raising anxiety amongst his campaign leaders and Democrats. 
• Trump's attempts to sell false statements to voters were rarely pushed back on by Biden or fact-checked by the moderators. Trump's inaccurate and hyperbolic claims included: his administration had the "best environmental numbers"; Nancy Pelosi refused his offer for national guard troops on Jan. 6; threats to prosecute Biden for "all of the things that he's done"; and that Democrats want to allow abortions up until and after birth. To this, Biden responded:

"You're lying. That is simply not true. We are not for late-term abortions, period."

• Nevertheless, Trump continued, adding:

"[Democrats] will take the life of a child...even after birth."

• The presidential hopefuls debated over the Israel-Hamas war, which has killed approximately 40,000 Palestinians since October. Biden emphasized the U.S.'s support to Israel, saying that his administration is continuing to send experts to hinder Hamas' power. Trump retorted by claiming Biden has become a "very bad Palestinian" for not letting Israel "finish the job."
• Despite immigration being a leading issue amongst voters, it was not the center of attention during the debate. Trump continuously turned questions about immigration into an attack on Biden, accusing him of "opening up the safest border in the world to terrorists, prisoners." Biden, on the other hand, emphasized his administration's work to manage illegal immigration. He even went so far as to say that border control has endorsed him, which the National Border Patrol Union claims is untrue. The union posted to X:

"To be clear, we never have and never will endorse Biden."

• Following the debate, there are talks of replacing Biden as the Democratic nominee. David Axelrod, former senior advisor to former President Barack Obama, said:

"There are going to be discussions about whether [Biden] should continue."

• The next presidential debate will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 10, at 9 p.m. ET. This will be the last debate before the presidential election.

This Thursday, June 27, is the first presidential debate of this year’s general election. It’s been four years since President Biden and former President Donald Trump last debated each other, and this year, they’re taking the stage in Atlanta, Georgia.

The debate will be hosted by CNN and will occur without an in-person audience. Jake Tapper and Dana Bush, hosts of the network’s political talk show State of the Union, will moderate the event.

The debate will break campaign tradition by occurring months earlier than usual and with a new set of rules, including muted microphones unless a candidate is directly spoken to, no prewritten notes, and a coin toss to determine the order of closing statements. 

Presidential debate details

Who: The debate will be between Biden and Trump. Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. failed to meet CNN’s requirements to participate, which are at least 15% support in four approved national polls and qualifying for ballot placement in enough states to receive 270 electoral votes. 

When: The event will be on Thursday at 9 p.m. Eastern time. The debate will last about 90 minutes. 

Where: You can watch the debate on CNN’s cable channel or CNN.com. The event will also be available to stream on The New York Times, ABC News, and Fox News. 

Check back on Thursday to watch the debate live here.