Republicans celebrate as Donald Trump picks JD Vance as his running mate at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee on Monday, July 15, 2024 (Photo by Kiira Turnbow)
RENO — The sound from the microphone cut out, and in front of thousands, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance stood in awkward silence. “We can’t hear you!” someone shouted at the suddenly muted running mate of former President Trump. For half a painful moment, he was powerless on stage.
Another microphone materialized.
“Can you hear me?” Vance asked as he spoke into the replacement. Then the turn: “I have been told this is an American-made microphone.” The already enthusiastic crowd was delighted and cheered as loud as they had all night.
The little exchange, made possible by a tech glitch and a quick quip, provides an easy metaphor for what the Trump-Vance campaign wants most right now. The senator accepted the Republican nomination for vice president just two weeks ago. In that time, Democrats have launched a campaign to label him “weird,” his net favorability numbers have gone negative, and the press has spent more time focused on old, private comments than his current public arguments.
Here in Nevada, Sen. Vance seeks a reset.