Vance auditions for Trump’s vice president on Fox

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) all but auditioned to be vice president in a FOX & Friends interview that aired Wednesday morning, acknowledging he has been contacted by Donald Trump’s campaign and that he’ll feel some “disappointment” if he isn’t on the ticket.

“I think they reached out to a lot of people, and I'm among them that basically said hey, send us some information,” Vance told FOX & Friends co-host Lawrence Jones alongside his wife, Usha Vance. “My best guess is they're looking at me and they're looking at a lot of other people too, and they'll ask me if they ask me. And if they don't, that's fine.”

J.D. Vance, who appears to be one of three stand-outs on Trump’s vice presidential list , added that he was “human” and would feel “a little bit of disappointment” if he isn’t ultimately chosen by the former president. He said he’s satisfied with his current job and raising a family.

“That's not going to change whether Trump asks me to be vice president or not,” he said.

The FOX & Friends interview is the latest iteration of Vance’s venture into the Trump veepstakes. Since May, he’s hit the airwaves, fundraising trail, and even the courtroom — making around two dozen media appearances , attending a Silicon Valley dinner with Trump, and sitting in on his New York trial .

Asked if she’s ready for the scrutiny “that comes with being second lady,” Usha Vance, a lawyer, said it’s hard to be prepared, as she learned when her husband ran for Senate in 2022.

“I'm not raring to change anything about our lives right now, but I believe in J.D. and really love him, and so we'll just sort of see what happens with our life,” she said, later suggesting it was too soon to discuss what her “cause” might be in the role of second lady.

Vance’s try-out on FOX is part of what the network is calling a “special series” interviewing Trump’s potential vice presidential picks about their policy stances and qualifications. The other contenders scheduled for sit-downs with FOX & Friends are Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) on Thursday and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum on July 1.

The series comes as Trump makes conflicting indications about the status and timeline of his vice presidential search. At a Saturday rally in Philadelphia, Trump said he knows who his pick will be and they will attend Thursday’s debate against President Joe Biden .

Vance is expected to be present at the debate alongside Burgum and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who has also floated to the top of Trump’s vice presidential list.

Since the weekend, however, Trump and his allies have sought to make light of the media speculation by casting doubt on reports about when Trump may announce his selection. Earlier in June, Trump’s campaign began vetting more than a half-dozen potential picks , including Vance and indicated that an announcement might coincide with the Republican National Convention in mid-July.

Also important to Trump is how his pick could perform in a high-profile vice presidential debate against Kamala Harris this summer . Vance was keen to outline his case against Harris when asked by Jones about a recent comment from her former communications director, who called him the “greatest threat” to Harris in a debate.

“Politicians are really good at saying things very well but not actually saying anything at all. That's the Kamala Harris problem,” Vance said. “She'll go around in circles and finally you sort of realize, wait a second, I listened to her for 10 minutes and she didn't say anything.”

Vance also added that he could neutralize a potential Democratic line of attack that Republicans are out for poor people or people of color, given that he grew up in a poor family in a working-class community. The Ohio senator also sought to scrub over his previous social media activity critical of Trump.

“I just think the results were so good,” Vance said of Trump’s presidency. “How could anybody look at say oh, yeah, I was critical of Trump in 2016, but he proved me wrong.”