U.S. Senator JD Vance’s story about how he says he responded when news broke of an assassination attempt against Donald Trump is spurring questions about his ability to handle stress in a crisis.
In an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan (video below), Vance, describing the assassination attempt, says, “when you first see the video, [Trump] grabs his ear, and then he goes down. And I’m like, ‘oh my God, they just killed him.’ And I was so, I mean, … I was so pissed. But then I go into like a fight or flight mode with my kids.”
“I’m like, you know, ‘alright kids,’ you know, we were at a, we were at a mini golf place in Cincinnati, Ohio. I grabbed my kids up, throw them in the car, go home and load all my guns, and basically stand like a sentry in our front door. And that was my, that was sort of my reaction to it.”
On July 13, the day of the assassination attempt during which a bullet bloodied Donald Trump’s ear, Vance was still just on the short list for vice-presidential running mate. Two days later, Trump announced the freshman Senator from Ohio, who was 39 at the time, as his choice to become VP.
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Reaction to Vance’s remarks Thursday was swift, with many focusing on the picture Vance’s own comments painted about his capacity to remain composed under the pressure of a crisis.
Indivisible co-executive director Leah Greenberg noted, “lot of issues here but just at a macro level: if you’re campaigning to potentially hold the most powerful job in the world, which requires smoothly managing fast-moving and deeply frightening crises, this is a really weird story to tell about how you act in stressful situations.”
“This is not exactly the best endorsement for ‘JD Vance has the proper temperament to be commander-in-chief,'” wrote MSNBC columnist Michael A. Cohen.
“‘In stressful situations I panic,’ says potential veep to ancient potential president,” remarked environmentalist Bill McKibben, named one of 2009’s 100 most important global thinkers.
Professor of law and politics Josh Chafetz also served up a mock quote: “Elect me to a position of authority! In a crisis, I pledge to let my autonomic nervous system dictate my response, which will probably involve going to ground and protecting only my immediate family.”
“What a wacko,” commented Washington Monthly contributing writer, activist, and research professional David O. Atkins. “Vance is far too emotionally unstable to be president, and Trump is too old and unhealthy to risk it.”
“JD Vance is not the person you want sitting in the Oval Office during a crisis,” added professor of political science David Darmofal.
Some called into question the validity of his story.
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Former Obama staffer Tommy Vietor wrote: “I’m sorry but this makes no sense…we all saw Trump stand up and pump his fist. JD didn’t just…lob in a call to Trump or his traveling staff before he drove home and started loading up the guns?”
Talking Points Memo founder and editor-in-chief Josh Marshall called it “the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever heard. In like the few seconds he might have thought Trump had died he went full fight or flight ‘left the mini-golf’ place, went on sentry duty outside his house. what?”
“If this were true (which it isn’t),” wrote former Obama administration official Brandon Friedman, “Vance would be in serious need of treatment. It would mean he has no business taking on a job like this until he gets the help he needs.”
Matthew Sheffield, a right-wing operative turned progressive commentator, wrote: “Either that’s an extremely cynical lie to pander to the Rogan demographic of survivalist drug addicts or it’s a highly disturbing admission that JD Vance is a Manchurian candidate, about to mentally snap at any moment.”
Watch the video below or at this link.
— bryan metzger (@metzgov) October 31, 2024
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