As President Donald Trump prepares for midterm elections that could transform him into an early lame duck, Democrats and left-wing figures are turning up the heat on the presumptive GOP nominee for 2028: Vice President JD Vance. Democrat strategist Lis Smith put the left’s plot plainly, “With every day that passes, we get closer to a day when Donald Trump is no longer president. And we need to prepare for that day. Right now, JD Vance is a clear frontrunner for the 2028 nomination. And so we should begin defining him — not in 2027, not in 2028 — but today.”
Democrats Defining Vance
The effort to define Vance ahead of 2028 is well underway. Last week, Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky warned that Vance could be “more damaging” than President Trump, calling the vice president the “most conceited politician that I’ve ever heard.” Beshear vowed to “work harder” than anyone to beat Vance in 2028.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a potential 2028 Democratic Party candidate, joined in the anti-Vance attacks in November when he accused the vice president of being a “phony” who doesn’t “give a damn about all Americans.” Shapiro’s sharp criticism came amid the SNAP food assistance program freeze, which was caused by a government shutdown.
But it was Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) who appeared to kick off the Democrat effort to define Vance last year during a visit to Yale University – his and Vance’s alma mater – where he compared the vice president to Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.
“Vance has not only declared war on the courts, but on the universities. And it is no accident. As Stephen Kotkin observed in his study of Stalin, strongmen do not fear recessions or even failed wars as much as they fear the university,” Khanna said, providing a fresh twist on the tired “everyone I don’t like is Hitler” refrain. When asked about the remarks, a top political advisor to Vance simply responded, “Yawn.”
Entertainers: Engage
The spotlight on Vance isn’t just coming from the political world. Last Week Tonight host John Oliver recently spent an entire 30-minute segment attacking the vice president. Oliver insulted Vance’s intelligence after hitting him with this scholarly right-hook: “Vance might appear to be just another abrasive MAGA a-hole with a load-bearing beard.” In between deeply sophisticated quips, Oliver revealed just why he was suddenly slinging arrows at Vance:
“But it’s worth remembering: Vance has an inside track to the Oval Office in the future, not only because polls show him leading the Republican field for 2028, but also because if [President Trump] doesn’t make it through his term, either because the 25th amendment got invoked or his internal organs decided ‘you know what, dude, you can’t keep doing this to us, we’re out,’ JD Vance will become president.”
Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel also took aim at Vance during a recent monologue about Iranian officials who said they’d prefer to negotiate with the vice president amid the Iran war. “I mean, this is the first time anyone’s ever wanted to talk to JD Vance….Even his wife Usha was like, ‘Are you sure they said JD?’” Kimmel said. “Source said that Iran sees JD Vance as a more acceptable diplomatic figure than [Steve] Wiktoff and [Jared] Kushner in the same way a canker sore is more acceptable than herpes. But do you know how much you have to suck for someone to demand you be replaced by JD Vance?”
For left-wing figures across politics and entertainment, Vance has gone from President Trump’s number two to public enemy number one in a matter of months.
A Good Vance of Humor
The first Millennial vice president, Vance frequently handles criticism and discomfort with humor. After a viral meme depicting the VP as a fat, goofy-looking, online troll went viral, Vance embraced the awkward internet trend, sharing it on his X profile and even going as the meme for Halloween. He has taken the same approach when it comes to Democrat attacks: “Democrats, the one thing they should learn from President Trump is to laugh at themselves a little bit. They don’t have to be so serious. They don’t have to get offended at everything. Sometimes it’s actually a good thing to have a sense of humor about our political process.”
That attitude could serve Vance well as Democrats close in. Like most ambitious politicians, Vance has been coy about running for president, but his plans don’t appear to matter very much to the left. As long as Vance keeps topping the polls as the likely 2028 GOP nominee, Democrats will keep him in their crosshairs.
