With Sunday’s announcement of Joe Biden’s departure from the race for president, Donald Trump’s campaign has shifted from unbridled confidence to unpreparedness overnight, casting doubt on J.D. Vance’s effectiveness as a running mate, according to The Atlantic.
After Biden’s embarrassing display on the debate stage with Trump on June 27, author Tim Alberta writes, “Trump’s campaign went from cocky about Biden’s deficiencies to fearful of his ouster to stunned at the sudden letter from Biden doing the thing Republicans never thought he’d do.”
In chatting with Republicans Monday, Alberta writes that many remained in shock that Biden was out of the race as Trump himself had a meltdown on his social media site Truth Social, telling followers “Now we have to start all over again.”
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Trump picked Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance — a devout MAGA pro-lifer – at the peak of his confidence while designing a campaign specifically designed to beat Biden. But Vance’s selection, Alberta writes, “was something of a luxury meant to run up margins with the base in a blowout rather than persuade wing voters in a nail-biter.”
With that strategy’s instant expiration in a post-Biden race, “Sunday brought an unfamiliar feeling of powerlessness,” to the Trump campaign, Alberta notes.
“For the first time in a long time, Trump does not control the narrative,” Alberta writes.
