MIDDLETOWN, Ohio — Republican vice-presidential nominee J.D. Vance displayed a stark difference between himself and Mike Pence — Donald Trump’s 2016 and 2020 running mate — by openly teasing the former president onstage at a rally in his hometown Monday.
“He has an IQ of 210,” one man shouted as Vance mentioned Trump’s intelligence.
“You know, I think he actually might have an IQ of 210,” Vance laughed before joking about Trump’s ego. “But just don’t tell him that, OK?”
Vance was in a jovial mood and recounted the day Trump called to offer him a spot on the ticket; he was in his car with his family.
“I’m like son, I love you, but please, stop talking about Pikachu for one moment so I can take the most important phone call of my life,” he said. “He asked me if I would say yes, and I told him ‘Hell yes!’ We didn’t come all this way to say no. But I also told him, ‘Hey, no matter how this goes from here: no take-backs.’”
Former Vice President Pence showed ironclad support of Trump through their final days in office and would sooner have dyed his white hair pink than tease the president behind a microphone.
But Vance and post-assassination-attempt Trump seem lighter, happier and confident enough to break-step now and then for the sake of a good punchline.
“I found out now that President Trump is going to get to debate Kamala Harris,” Vance quipped. “That’s fine for him, but shoot I was pissed! I told him I wanted to have a shot at her. We both laughed.”
So did the crowd.
But Vance also demonstrated his loyalty when chants of “Vance 2028” broke out and he waved them aside.
“We’ve got to win this one first,” he said, shaking his head.
Vance was previously a sharp critic of Trump, with many calling him a hypocrite now that the pair are sharing the ticket, but the Ohio senator disagrees.
“The media lies about this guy constantly, and I believed it. . . . I was wrong. He cares about me and my family and his family. He’s a good man and an amazing father. That’s the guy they don’t want you to see,” he said. “He speaks directly to people and he does what he says. That’s why I love him.”
The Trump team is relying on Vance to help carry the Midwest in November and to do so, it’s clearly given him a much longer leash than Pence could ever dream of.
Maybe pink hair would have helped after all.