Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio told reporters on Friday that former President Trump “doesn’t need to change course” on the campaign trail, despite Vice President Harris’ gains in several recent polls.
Vance, speaking at the Milwaukee Police Association, made the comments after a reporter told him that “some of former President Trump’s allies have recently said the president should focus more on policy and, as you said, less on personal attacks.”
“I’m just curious, have you had that conversation with him? Would he need to change course, especially as we look at battleground states like Wisconsin?” Vance was asked.
“I don’t think the president needs to change course,” the vice presidential nominee responded. “If I said that, you can imagine what he would say. I think the reason President Trump connects so well with the American people is because even if they disagree with something he says, they know that he’s just him, right?”
Trump’s running mate Vance aims to flip Democratic states to Republicans
J.D. Vance spoke to reporters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Friday, August 16. (Pool/Fox News)
“I think a candidate who I disagree with 25% of the time, but who is a real person and is willing to improvise, is a lot better than someone like Kamala Harris, who hides behind a teleprompter and doesn’t speak directly to the American people unless she has a script in front of her that tells her exactly what to say,” Vance continued. “I think President Trump’s unscripted nature is one of the reasons why his campaign has been so representative of the kind of president he would be.”
“That being said, we’re very focused on policy. Today I was in Wisconsin talking about public safety. Yesterday I was in Pennsylvania talking about veterans issues. The day before that I was in Michigan talking about how we have to stop the trade and energy policies that are causing all of our manufacturing jobs to go to China,” Vance added.
“But my only advice to the running mate would be to be yourself and let people see who you are, and I think he’s doing that every day of the campaign,” he concluded.
Since Waltz joined the party, Trump has been asked 81 questions in press conferences and interviews, compared with Harris’ 14.
Former President Trump and his vice presidential nominee, Senator J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), attended the first day of the Republican National Convention on July 15, 2024. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
So Latest Fox News Poll, Nationally, Trump leads Harris 50% to 49%.
But a Siena College poll released for the New York Times last weekend found that: Harris outranks Trump Among voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, his approval rating increased by four points (50% to 46%).
Polling and data expert Nate Silver He also made the remarks in Wednesday’s “Special Report.” “If there was an election tomorrow… I think Harris would have a slight advantage.”
“Recent polls show her leading in ‘blue wall’ states such as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada, within the margin of error,” Silver said.
On the left, Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, have both seen their support rise against President Trump in several recent polls. (Rhonda Churchill/AFP via Getty Images)
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“But people should remember two things,” he added. “One, we’re still three months out. There will be more surprises. And two, polls have been wrong before. They underestimated Trump in the last two general elections.”
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser and Yael Haron contributed to this report.
