Financial Times columnist Ed Luce has cast doubt on JD Vance‘s prospects of being Donald Trump’s “obvious successor.” In a recent article, the journalist claimed that the Vice President’s political standing is diminishing.
JD Vance’s chance of becoming successor is diminishing, says analyst
Journalist and political commentator Ed Luce has given his thoughts on JD Vance‘s chances as a potential successor to Donald Trump. In his Tuesday column in the Financial Times, Luce argued that the Vice President’s stature has been diminished. The column was titled “The ever-shrinking JD Vance.”
“Pity JD Vance,” Luce wrote. “Having advised against Donald Trump’s Iran war, he was sent to Islamabad to fix it. En route to that doomed cause, the US vice-president stopped off in Hungary to endorse another — Viktor Orbán’s re-election campaign.” The FT columnist continued, “The Iran talks failed, and Orbán lost in a landslide. By the end of that tour from hell, Vance’s approval rating was the lowest ever for a vice-president at this point in a term.”
Luce went on to claim that President Trump appears to diminish Vance. He stated that he is “no longer Trump’s obvious successor.” The journalist continued, “The president now makes a habit of lightly teasing Vance at public events. Gentle can quickly turn to savage if Trump loses respect. While Vance was in Pakistan, Trump was living it up in Miami with his chief rival, Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state.”
He added, “Forget that America’s chief diplomat was absent from the most important bilateral talks of Trump’s presidency. The very moment Vance was announcing their collapse, Rubio was socializing with Trump.” It was at the “ringside of an Ultimate Fighting Championship bout.”
Luce argued that, unlike Trump, Vance has no strong, loyal base. He said, “Even were Vance to regain his place in the Trumpian firmament, there is no such thing as a Vance base. His standing relies solely on Trump. This presents Vance with two steep disabilities. The first is that he lacks standalone political charisma.” The FT writer further claimed, “Vance would also suffer from the same handicap as Kamala Harris had with Joe Biden in 2024.” Adding that his boss’s record would be tied to his own.
Originally written by Namrata Ghosh on Mandatory.
