I think it’s an undeniable fact at this point that Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) has been GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s greatest asset since choosing him to be his running mate back in late July.
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The way he shredded (without breaking a sweat) Democrat vice presidential nominee Tim Walz at the veep debate, coupled with how he’s handled the liberal media’s stale talking points and his refusal to back down from a fight – complete with receipts – are all things that have endeared him to conservatives in the Republican Party.
Not to mention how those blue eyes and his occasional displays of “toxic masculinity” make hearts flutter, but I digress.
READ MORE: JD Vance Makes ‘Toxic Masculinity’ Great Again After Hearing Woman Scream at North Carolina Rally
Naturally, because Vance is so good at what he does when it comes to cutting things (and critics) down to size, the pro-Kamala Harris media wants to knock him down a peg or two in the eyes of voters.
Such was the case on Thursday when Politico ran a hit piece on Vance that detailed his alleged speaking fees and requests for certain things like flights and cars to be “first-class” during the 2017 book tour for his bestseller “Hillbilly Elegy”:
New: JD Vance requested first-class flights, private cars and speaking fees as high as $40,000 from Midwestern public universities during his 2017 book tour — with University of Wisconsin Madison breaking off negotiations for a campus visit in part over the fee.…
— Adam Wren (@adamwren) October 17, 2024
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Here’s more from the story:
Vance’s requests, negotiated through a speaker’s bureau and talent agency and documented in emails obtained by a public records request and provided to POLITICO, offer a window into his meteoric rise following the release of his memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” at a moment when his public comments about Donald Trump stood in stark contrast to what is today his pugilistic defense of his running mate.
If that was supposed to make people view JD Vance in a more negative light, it… didn’t:
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton demanded that UCLA provide her diet ginger ale, crudité, hummus, sliced fruit, both hot and room temperature water, lemon wedges and long and rectangular pillows while getting paid $300k. pic.twitter.com/bs6Nm8gmAQ
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) October 17, 2024
YAWN pic.twitter.com/pVA0nw3Lu0
— Kristan Hawkins (@KristanHawkins) October 17, 2024
I mean, I don’t know much about speaking fees but the types of negotiations that were talked about in the article sound about normal based on what one would think someone who had a bestseller of that magnitude would get in return for their speeches and appearances.
Whatever the case may be, Vance’s team had the appropriate response:
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“It’s widely known that, like many best-selling authors, Senator Vance was compensated for speaking events after the success of Hillbilly Elegy,” said William Martin. “High-profile Democrats like the Clintons, Obamas, and Bidens have made tens of millions in speaking fees over the years. Politico should be embarrassed to be reporting on something so irrelevant to the issues American voters care about.”
Truly. I mean I doubt a single person reading that piece came away from it thinking “This is the last straw. I’m not voting for Trump-Vance.” I mean I could be wrong here, but I don’t think so.
