Growing up in Appalachia and Middle America, James David Vance is used to being underestimated by the elites. Democrats and the media have labelled him asstrange” The far right Racist remarks To his wife. His new boss, Donald Trumpsaid, “The choice of vice president doesn’t matter. … You’re voting for the president. You’re voting for me,” which is not entirely true. Here’s why J.D. Vance matters.
The Constitution gives the Vice President little power beyond acting as President of the Senate, and in the event of a tie vote, the Vice President can cast the deciding vote. Lyndon Johnson said, “Senate PresidentInaugurated as president in 1960, Johnson was a man who craved power, so he puzzled many when he accepted the nomination for vice president, the “weakest” position of power in government. When Clare Boothe Luce asked him why he accepted the job, Johnson replied, “Clare, I looked it up, and one in four presidents dies in office. I’m a gambler, and this is my only chance.”
Trump has surpassed Joe Biden to become the oldest presidential candidate in history, and it’s unlikely he will be able to complete a full term.
That’s why the vice president is so important. If you vote for Trump, Oldest Presidential Candidate You are also voting for Vance, the first person in history to be nominated by a major party.
History changes quickly when a vice president becomes president. When William Henry Harrison died, the vice president John Tyler Tyler seized the opportunity to make history. At the time, some believed he should serve as president until new elections were held or Congress decided otherwise. Tyler’s ambitious run for president became known as the “Tyler Precedent.”
Tyler’s political views differed greatly from those of his predecessors and his party. Tyler supported states’ rights, while the Whigs supported a greater federal system, including infrastructure and a national bank. He vetoed several bills passed by the Whig-majority Congress, his cabinet resigned in protest, and he was expelled from the Whig party. Tyler was not deterred, however. His ambition to expand American territory and secure states’ rights continued. Annexation of Texas Through the Joint Resolution, the chain of events that led to the Civil War was set in motion.
Tyler was not the only vice president to change the course of history. Andrew Johnson After Abraham Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, he scaled back his ambitious Reconstruction plans. Edwin StantonPresident Johnson was prepared. Instead of focusing on rebuilding a war-torn country, Republicans and the legislature pitted themselves against one another.
The Republican Party Public Office Tenure Act; This law limited the president’s ability to remove certain public officials from office without Senate approval. Johnson considered the law unconstitutional and decided to challenge it by removing Stanton from office. Republicans in the House of Representatives impeachment Johnson passed eleven articles in February 1868, but the Senate fell just one vote short of convicting and removing him from office.
rear William McKinley After McKinley was assassinated in 1901, Teddy Roosevelt took over and turned the tide for big business. McKinley was famously backed by wealthy businessmen (some called them robber barons). His campaign manager, Mark Hanna, once said, “There are two important things in politics. The first is money. I can’t remember what the second was.” The trusts that funded McKinley’s campaign were the ones Roosevelt busted when he took office.
During the 1944 election, with Franklin Roosevelt’s health declining and the wars still raging in Europe and the Pacific, administration and party leaders wanted a vice president who could be widely accepted as president and keep the country united. They favored the Progressive wing. Henry A. Wallace He worked alongside the more moderate Harry Truman, whose steady leadership calmed an anxious American public and played a key role in overseeing an end to the war and establishing the United Nations to prevent future conflict.
Lyndon Johnson’s gamble paid off when Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, helping him rise to the heights of power he craved. He continued Kennedy’s civil rights policies, Civil Rights Act of 1964He also The Great SocietyIt expanded the federal government and welfare programs, gave it extensive military power, and escalated the Vietnam War. Gulf of Tonkin ResolutionIn 1965, during President Johnson’s term, Congress 25th AmendmentIt codified the “Tyler Precedent” and gave the Vice President and a majority of the Cabinet the power to remove the President from office if he is unfit for office.
It is not surprising that Trump does not appreciate the importance of the vice president. Like Johnson, Trump is a master of power, but he often lacks the historical knowledge necessary to wield it effectively for anyone but himself and his own interests. Trump is now the oldest presidential candidate ever, surpassing Joe Biden. He has been impeached twice. He has contracted COVID-19 and Assassination attempt. It is unlikely that he will be able to complete his term.
Vance is keenly aware of the power of the vice presidency. He said he believes Harris and the Cabinet call “If Joe Biden cannot run for president, then he cannot serve as president,” Vance said last month. “If we want to remove him from office because he is mentally incompetent, we will invoke the 25th Amendment.”
Vance would wield great power as vice president, given the precedent set by John Tyler and others and concerns about Trump’s health and ability to act, and he could potentially further divide the country if he invokes the 25th Amendment if Trump becomes ill or incapacitated.
So the big questions are: Who is J.D. Vance and what does he really stand for? Is he a moderate like Truman, who balanced opposing factions, or a radical like Johnson or Tyler, who imposed his policies on the American people through sheer determination and the manipulation of power? We need to understand this man better in the next three months.
