With an eye on 2028, Vance seeks to inherit Trump’s base and shed his baggage

WASHINGTON – Late in his blitz to salvage Republicans’ midterm fortunes, US Vice-President J.D. Vance shifted strategy. He talked less about President Donald Trump and more about the issues that define his own political identity.Vance argued the case for Republicans, who lost control of Congress in the Nov 3 vote, almost exclusively through the lens of his policy portfolio.He bypassed Trump’s signature policies, including the Iran war and deportations, as polls showed the president’s sagging popularity dragging down Republican office-seekers.The change was deliberate, according to two people familiar with the strategy. Vance and his advisers saw the issues he championed – economic nationalism, foreign policy restraint and public safety – as politically potent subjects he could address with authority.While Trump embraced them as part of his MAGA movement, Vance emerged as their lead crusader, the people said.The shift offered an early glimpse of how the 42-year-old vice-president could chart his own course as Republicans begin looking beyond Trump.Vance has not said whether he will run for president in 2028, and Trump has not endorsed him or anyone else. But he is viewed as a leading potential contender who some Republican officials say will need to inherit much of Trump’s coalition while separating himself from his boss’ baggage.Vance took a more public step on Nov 4 towards reinforcing his own political brand with an unusually blunt election post-mortem. In a social media post, he blamed the Iran war for Republicans’ midterm defeat and laid out a platform for a Republican rebound.He called for a swift end to the conflict and urged Republicans to focus on affordability, re-evaluate foreign relations and overhaul the US relationship with Israel.Trump has called Americans’ affordability concerns a Democratic “hoax”. He launched a war against Iran following sustained lobbying from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump went on to endorse Netanyahu in the Israeli election.The post for the first time put Vance openly on the side of ending the war.Three people familiar with the White House and Vance’s communications said the vice-president was not breaking with Trump. White House chief of staff Susie Wiles knew in advance about Vance’s post, they said.On Nov 6, Trump reshuffled senior White House leadership, replacing Wiles with Stephen Miller in a move that suggests the White House plans to double down on some of Trump’s more hardline policies.Trump has acknowledged the Iran war played a role in the Republican rout because of the resulting high oil prices but has continued to defend it.“I would have done nothing different,” he told reporters on Nov 4.Donald Trump Jr, the president’s eldest son, endorsed Vance’s remarks on social media, along with some conservative allies.The dialogue further elevated Vance as a potential post-Trump conservative standard-bearer, said Michael Ricci, a Republican strategist and former adviser to House Speakers John Boehner and Paul Ryan.Using his V-P megaphoneHe said Vance’s message forced conservatives to debate the merits of the war, and more broadly, what core tenets Republican presidential candidates should embrace in 2028.“It’s simplistic to say this about him looking for ways to differentiate himself from Trump,” Ricci said. “This is about him using his megaphone of the vice-presidency to set the terms of debate.”Democrats are poised to tie Vance – or any Republican nominee – to Trump in 2028, especially if Trump plays a large role in vetting conservative hopefuls.“There’s a real challenge of how you position yourself to be viable in a general election while winning a primary that still requires you to bow down and kiss the ring,” said Igor Volsky, a Democratic strategist.Vance’s brand did not emerge from the midterms unscathed.Republicans lost in states where he campaigned. Some of the strategies he endorsed – including an ad by Ohio gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy that cast doubt on the sexual abuse suffered by the victorious Democratic candidate, Amy Acton – may have swung races away from Republicans.Other possible 2028 presidential contenders have offered their diagnoses of the midterm defeat.US Senator Ted Cruz of Texas said Republicans have not done enough on affordability. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said losing candidates focused too heavily on transgender issues and neglected voter concerns about data centres and artificial intelligence.Secretary of State Marco Rubio has stayed silent.Vance’s effort to shape the debate was visible during the closing days of the campaign.In stump speeches, he told voters to support Republicans because they would investigate fraud in federal healthcare and anti-poverty programmes, tying that to the White House’s immigration agenda and the cost of living.He almost entirely ignored the Iran war and oil prices, and seldom mentioned Trump by name.“I want my kids to raise a family in a country that is vibrant and thriving and free and prosperous. I want the simple things,” Vance told one of his final rallies in North Carolina. “And because I want that for me, I want it for you, too.” REUTERS