Vance Tests 2028 Message With Midterm Rallies

Vice President JD Vance is using his midterm campaign schedule to trial-run the economic and cultural arguments he may deploy in a 2028 presidential bid. His speeches this week in Texas and Michigan feature a specific blend of populist nostalgia and sharp partisan attacks that distinguishes his style from that of President Donald Trump.

Vance frames the current political moment as a conflict between local working-class communities and distant Washington elites. In Howell, Michigan, he pointed to small businesses that no longer exist, blaming politicians who he said ignored the needs of states like Ohio and Michigan. He contrasted this with a post-September 11 era of national unity, a theme he repeated in North Carolina. These remarks position him as a defender of traditional economic structures against federal overreach.

The vice president also leans into the culture wars, emphasizing racial harmony in working-class settings. In North Carolina, he described childhood football games where Black and white children played together without concern for social privilege. While this message echoes Trump’s anti-woke platform, Vance delivers it with a more structured, political cadence. He occasionally mixes in informal language, such as telling a crowd in Weatherford, Texas, that he was sweating at the podium.

Economic policy remains a central pillar of Vance’s stump speech, particularly regarding energy costs. He avoids directly attributing recent price spikes to the Iran War, instead comparing current gasoline prices to historical surges in 1979, 2001, 2007, and 2022. In Montana, he told crowds that prices skyrocket whenever a foreign leader causes geopolitical instability. He applied a similar logic to beef prices, citing meatpacker consolidation as the primary driver rather than current administration policies.

Vance leverages his role as head of the White House anti-fraud task force to connect with voters on a personal level. In Cincinnati, he recalled working as a cashier at Dhillon Foods, a local grocery store, and receiving federal food benefits as a child. This biographical detail allows him to discuss military service and economic hardship in ways that differ from the president’s own narrative. He uses these experiences to argue that his brand of politics can restore stability to American life.

The strategy faces challenges due to the president’s current unpopularity, particularly in areas where his policies have raised consumer costs. Vance must promote Republican candidates while managing the association with a leader who is losing support in key battlegrounds. His upcoming schedule includes further appearances in South Carolina and other states as the midterm election season intensifies.