When Donald Trump tapped J.D. Vance to be his running mate on day one of the Republican National Convention in July, there was some hand-wringing from certain segments of the Republican Party over the choice.
Years-old comments from the Ohio senator about “childless cat ladies” were dug up and rehashed for several weeks, but Vance has since established himself as an asset for the Trump campaign. The 40 year old has proven to be a very effective communicator and messenger who is willing to go toe-to-toe with the media, as was made clear during his widely praised performance at the CBS News vice presidential debate.
Tucker Carlson was one of the biggest champions of Vance and was reportedly part of the braintrust that led to him being named the VP nominee. On Wednesday’s show, he joined Megyn to talk about why Vance was the right pick for Trump despite the protestations.
‘Act of Bravery’
Carlson said he is friends with “basically zero” politicians, but he considers Vance a friend for “reasons that have nothing to do with politics.” Chiefly, he thinks Vance is “a normal, really smart guy,” who “understands that our foreign policy is complicated… but, ultimately, what we’ve done abroad over the past 20 years has not helped the United States or anybody else.”
While Carlson and Donald Trump, Jr., were among those advocating for Vance, there were also detractors. “I cannot overstate how much donors just dislike J.D. Vance,” Carlson said. “He was chosen on the Monday of the Republican Convention and, up until that moment, Trump was getting calls from his biggest donors saying, ‘Don’t do this.'”
He said some of Vance’s colleagues in the Senate had a similar message. “Lindsey Graham, that morning, was telling Trump that J.D. Vance was evil,” Carlson recalled. “The second he picked J.D. Vance, there was Lindsey Graham on Twitter saying, ‘Oh, my old friend J.D. Vance. I’m thrilled that he got the nod.'”
In Carlson’s view, Trump made a courageous choice in selecting the Hillbilly Elegy author. “It was in defiance of his biggest donors and many of his allies, which was an act of bravery for which he should get credit,” he said.
Who’s ‘Weird’ Now?
Vance’s Democratic counterpart, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, was the surrogate who came up with the “weird” messaging to describe the Trump-Vance ticket, but Carlson believes the tables have turned. “You know who is weird? Tim Walz,” he said. “I am not going to go on about it, but that guy is weird. Let’s be real.”
Meanwhile, he believes the last three months have “vindicated” the first-term senator. “He is not weird. That is just not true. It is the opposite of true,” Carlson said. “To see J.D. let the rest of the world know how impressive he is… I’m just thrilled.”
You can check out Megyn’s full interview with Carlson by tuning in to episode 918 on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you like to listen. And don’t forget that you can catch The Megyn Kelly Show live on SiriusXM’s Triumph (channel 111) weekdays from 12pm to 2pm ET.