Debate prep: JD Vance has shown he is unfit to lead | The Homestretch
Plus, the truth about the U.S. economy and what real leadership looks like as Jimmy Carter turns 100.
Regardless of who “wins” the vice-presidential debate Tuesday night, JD Vance has already proved he is unfit for the office on many levels.
For starters, Vance, 40, lacks experience to be a world leader. He has served less than two years in the U.S. Senate. During that time, he did not pass one bill. Given Donald Trump’s advanced age of 78, if Vance were thrust into the role of president, he is ill prepared to run the country.
Beyond his lack of qualifications, Vance is a fraud.
His claim to fame is writing a memoir about growing up poor. But his upbringing was more middle-class. While his mother struggled with substance abuse, his parents earned six figures some years, and his “Papaw” retired with an excellent pension from his union job. In writing Hillbilly Elegy, Vance did not let the facts get in the way of a good story.
Vance is also a shapeshifter. Before Trump was elected in 2016, Vance compared the New York businessman to Hitler and called him an “idiot” and “reprehensible.” When Vance emerged as a vice-presidential contender, he attempted to rewrite his brush with honesty, by saying his views on Trump had changed. But in 2020, Vance wrote that Trump “failed to deliver on his economic populism.”
That underscores Vance’s real danger. He will say or do anything to obtain power — even if it means putting lives in danger. On the campaign trail, Vance promoted the lie about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, eating their neighbor’s pets.
Even after Springfield officials said they told Vance it was not true, he refused to back away from the story as the community was being terrorized. As bomb threats closed schools and local government offices, Vance and Trump continued to lie.
A neo-Nazi group marched through Springfield and Ku Klux Klan fliers were distributed. After Jamie McGregor, a fifth generation Springfield resident, praised the Haitian immigrants working at his metal parts factory, he received death threats.
Lost in Vance’s ugly lie was that Springfield had recruited the immigrants to the town to stem the population loss. And the Haitians were in the country legally, working hard, trying to build a better life, just like many immigrants who have come before them.
None of that mattered to Vance. He spread lies, fueled hate, wasted tax dollars and put lives at risk to animate a base of voters who are misinformed and uninformed about what really makes America great.
Like Trump, Vance is part of the real danger within.
What a difference
Vance’s lack of character stands in stark contrast to former President Jimmy Carter, who turns 100 on Tuesday. Unlike Vance, Carter campaigned on honesty.
While Carter’s presidency was hobbled by inflation and American hostages held in Iran, he never forgot his humble roots as a peanut farmer in Plains, Ga., where he has lived in the same modest ranch house since 1961.
As president, Carter forged peace in the Middle East, promoted green energy, championed diversity, and expanded the national parks. His post presidency was even more impactful as he focused on issues Trump and Vance never mention: promoting democracy, human rights, social justice, preventing disease, and building affordable housing.
Carter warned voters about the dangers of the would-be autocrat. The division and distrust in elections promoted by Trump created a risk of “losing our precious democracy.” Carter urged Americans to “set aside differences and work together before it is too late.”
Voters should heed Carter’s sage advice.
Numbers don’t lie
Trump continues to paint America as a dark and dystopian place. But despite his rhetoric, the economic numbers do not lie. Fox Business reported that U.S. household wealth is at a record high, the stock market keeps climbing, consumer spending and business investment is fueling strong economic growth, the job market remains robust, and inflation cooled to 2.5%.
Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, posted on X that “this is among the best performing economies in my 35-plus years as an economist.”
Meanwhile, a recent analysis by the nonpartisan Peterson Institute for International Economics, said Trump’s plan to impose tariffs and deport millions of migrants would slash economic growth, increase prices, and cause inflation to rebound sharply.
That may explain why recent polls show Vice President Kamala Harris closing the gap or leading when voters are asked who they trust more on the economy. Indeed, Harris actually unveiled a detailed economic plan designed to grow the middle class, while Trump has no plan and thinks tariffs will solve everything, including the cost of child care.
As with most issues in this race, the choice is not even close.
The Homestretch is an occasional column by members of The Inquirer Editorial Board exploring the stakes in the 2024 presidential race.