Over Here, Over There

Citizen Dan: JD Vance's Presidential Bid Begins in the Cotswolds

• Dan Harris and Claudia Koestler • Season 3 • Episode 32

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BBC Radio Wiltshire and Gloucestershire host Graham Rogers explores with Dan Harris, political commentator and podcast co-host 'Over Here, Over There', the significance of JD Vance's visit to the Gloucestershire-Wiltshire border. Dan describes JD Vance's background, the role of the Vice President, and Vance's potential future in politics. The discussion highlights Vance's rise in prominence compared to previous vice presidents, his political aspirations, and the implications of his actions on the international stage.

Takeaways

  • JD Vance is a rising political figure with a military background.
  • He has a legal education from Ohio State and Yale Law.
  • Vance's book 'Hillbilly Elegy' gained him significant recognition.
  • The Vice President's role can be influential, especially in the Senate.
  • Vance's visit to Fairford Air Force base is seen as a strategic move.
  • He is positioning himself for a potential presidential run in 2028.
  • Vance's controversial views align with the MAGA movement., 
  • His international engagements enhance his political profile.
  • The Vice President's visibility is often determined by the President.
  • Vance's popularity exceeds that of many past vice presidents.

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Sound Bites

  • "Who is JD Vance?"
  • "His rise has been quite amazing."
  • "He's in pole position for the GOP nomination in 2028."


Graham Rogers(00:22.104)

Your afternoon show from the BBC across Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. This is Graham Rogers with you, through until six. Now, as we've been mentioning in the news this afternoon, the US Vice President is on the Gloucestershire-Wiltshire border this afternoon. JD Vance is visiting US service personnel at RAF Fairford whilst is on a family holiday in the Cotswolds. So, we thought we should look into this more. JD Vance, who is he? And how significant is this visit, as he potentially eyes the presidency himself, maybe in a few years time. Well, Dan Harris from Charlton Kings near Cheltenham is with me on the programme this afternoon. Originally from upstate New York, he's worked on Capitol Hill and at the White House, is now a US political commentator. Indeed, he hosts the podcast over here, over there. And I should say, Dan's with me on the programme this afternoon. How are you, sir?

 

Dan Harris

Good, thank you. Nice to be with you, Graham.

 

Graham Rogers

Yeah, good to talk to you again. Right, let's go straight for it. JD Vance. probably, I'm guessing most people listening to the program have heard the name, but who is he? Who is JD Vance?

 

Dan Harris

JD Vance, like most vice presidents, the profile of the vice president is usually fairly low. in the last six months, that has proved to be quite different for JD Vance and his various entanglements that he's gotten himself into both domestically and internationally. But who is JD Vance? Well, he's had a rapid rise from his days when he served in the military in Iraq. He was a corporal there.

He went to Ohio State and Yale Law, so he's got a legal background. He's been involved in Silicon Valley with Peter Thiel at Palantir and the high-tech bros. And he's written a book, a very well-known book, Hillbilly Elegy, about his Appalachian culture and the values of his family growing up in that area. And he's had a rapid rise politically. He was only in his Senate seat for two years before Trump chose him to be his running mate. And so that's a rapid kind of bio of him, but his rise has been quite, quite amazing, and he's still 40 or early 40s.

 

Graham Rogers

It's interesting because, you know, as you quite rightly say, when you compare him to past vice presidents, he's got a much higher profile than the many that have gone before him. In fact, one past vice president once described the role as not worth a bucket of warm spit. In reality, how much power does a US vice president have?

 

Dan Harris

Not much. Not much. But they do play a significant role in one factor is that when there's a split or a tie in the Senate, the vice president can then cast a deciding vote. that's often happened. Kamala Harris did that with the health bill that was passed, and various bills under Biden. And so it is crucial. That power is crucial. They're usually in the shadow of the president, and it's really the president's doing as far as how visible the president wants to make his or her vice president. And so with Kamala Harris, she really didn't rise to prominence except for those key bills that were, you know, that she voted on. But with JD Vance, for a while, you wondered at the beginning, for the first three months, you wondered where he was. And then that infamous scene in the White House, where he was on a couch across from Vladimir Zelensky, and he and Trump were ganging up on Zelensky during that meeting. that really, I think, brought him to world attention as well as his criticisms of NATO and of Europe, European countries at the Munich Security Conference. That has also not gone down well with allies over here.He is, for good or for ill, he's gained a lot more popularity than most vice presidents.

 

Graham Rogers

And what's the significance of this visit today to Fairford?

 

Dan Harris

 think they're looking at a spy plane and that is underneath a big American flag and some hanger in Fairford. But I think it's really positioning him and his positioning of the US, and it's within Europe and the UK, and possibly his run in 2028, because a little bit more…

 

Graham Rogers

Well, yes, I was going to ask you about that. I mean, is he lining himself up for a run for a future presidency when Trump's term ends? Or if you believe some of the internet rumours surrounding at the moment, maybe even before that?

 

Dan Harris (05:11.448)

It could be before that. There was a meeting that was supposed to be scheduled that got postponed or cancelled; he was supposed to lead on what the Trump administration was going to do to counter the Epstein files and all the bad press that's been going on around that. That didn't happen. And so, he has been trying to make himself, whether overtly or not, look more presidential, obviously, on the international stage by taking this trip. Now, he's supposed to be over here on a vacation, but he's combining that with a lot of diplomacy and discussions with the UK and European leaders. So, it's really changed the nature of his visit and the profile of his visit. And certainly going to Fairford and looking at a spy plane and having a bit of a ceremony like that also will supposedly, enhance his positioning internationally and back home, if they're paying attention, but even back home, vice presidents don't get a lot of airtime. But I think that what Vance has done, though, what he's been saying in his very controversial, very right-wing populist America First agenda that he's followed and supported Trump on, he has really put himself out there for 2028; he wants to assume the mantle of the MAGA movement. He wants that block of the Republican movement to go his way. obviously he will run whenever, if and when Trump does leave the scene, and he's (i.e. Trump) supposed to leave the scene in 2028, but who knows? He's in, well, could you say at the moment? Yeah, he's in, he's in pole position.

 

Graham Rogers

Positioning himself. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, and he's apparently visited Clarkson's farm as well

 

Dan Harris (07:03.854)

Yeah, and done a little fishing, I guess, with David Lammy (UK Foreign Secretary). I heard David Lammy didn't have a fishing license when they went out, and he had to go to the local authority to get a fishing license before that happened.

 

Graham Rogers (07:19.488)

Yes. You couldn't make it up, could you? Always fascinating to talk to you, Dan. I'm grateful for your time. Thank you for joining me. Dan Harris hosts the podcast ‘Over Here, Over There.’

 

BBC Radio Wiltshire