DeWine on Vance: 'His life experiences are unique' and will relate with voters

Donald Trump picked Ohio Sen. JD Vance to be his running mate. To further discuss Vance and the selection, Geoff Bennett sat down with Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.

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Geoff Bennett: For more on Donald Trump’s selection of Senator J.D. Vance to be his running mate, we are joined now here in our studio by Ohio’s Governor Mike DeWine.

Governor, thanks so much for being with us.

Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH): Good to be with you. Thank you.

Geoff Bennett: And picking up on this conversation we were having with Karen, J.D. Vance is 39 years old. He turns 40 later this summer. This marks a real generational shift for the Republican Party. I imagine you know him well.

In your view, what does he add to this Republican ticket?

Gov. Mike DeWine: Well, I have known him for many, many years. Right after he wrote his book, I sought him out. I wanted to talk to him. I thought he’d be an interesting person. You know, we have been friends since then.

Look, I think he brings some of the obvious things, as you say, a generational change. I think people are looking for that, frankly. And so he certainly does that. I think his life experiences are unique. There are a few people who have had that experience and have been able to achieve what he has been able to achieve in a relatively short period of time.

So while he may not have long political experience, I think he will be able to relate to the mom who doesn’t have enough food for her kids, the family that’s got someone in their family who has a mental health problem or has a drug problem. These are things that, because of his life experiences — and I think that will come out during the campaign and people will start to really — from a national point of view, start to understand that.

I think the other thing he brings is, he has the ability to articulate what Donald Trump’s program is in a very sophisticated way and I think in a very compelling way. I think we have seen that on some of the talk shows over the last three or four months. He’s been there and he makes a very persuasive case.

Amna Nawaz: In the wake of this horrific assassination attempt on former President Trump, there have been so many calls for unity, for a tamping down of the political rhetoric.

And yet former President Trump picked the man who was perhaps most aggressive in terms of immediately turning the tables and pointing the finger at President Biden to say, you are responsible for this attack. What kind of message do you think that sends?

Gov. Mike DeWine: I think what people listen to is what Donald Trump says. And I have been very pleased, frankly, from what he has said since this tragedy occurred.

I think he’s been trying to reach out. He’s trying to tamp it down. He said he’s changed his acceptance speech dramatically. So, look, I think both President Biden and President Trump, both of them, since this occurred, have said the right things.

And I think we need to keep going down that pathway. Look, we are a very divided country. Everybody knows that. But there’s still so many things that we share with even people on the other side of whatever the issue is. I mean, we all care for our kids. We all want our kids to have a good education. We want this country to thrive and to move forward.

So we need to keep reminding ourselves of what brings us together. I try to do that as governor. It’s something that’s very important. And so what I have seen the last few days, I think it’s very good.

Geoff Bennett: You know, Senator Vance, as we were discussing earlier, he previously said of Donald Trump that he’s a never-Trump guy. “I never liked him. He’s a terrible candidate. He’s an — you’re an idiot if you would vote for him.”

How damaging are those prior statements? And how do you characterize his change of heart? Because his critics say that this change of heart is — was basically cynically molded so that he would be in line with the Republican Party.

Gov. Mike DeWine: Well, clearly, Donald Trump thought that he has changed his mind. The president would not have done this, put him on the ticket if he didn’t think he really had changed his mind.

So I think those statements are what they are. I think most people are looking towards the future. I don’t know if that’s going to be a big deal in this campaign. I think what will be a big deal is, again, where people think Donald Trump is going to take this country, and versus where they think President Biden is going to take it.

It always the way it is. We always vote our future.

Amna Nawaz: There’s been some concerns, I’m sure you have seen as well, from the Biden campaign, from their campaign chair, Jen O’Malley Dillon, basically saying that J.D. Vance was picked because he would potentially do what Mike Pence would not, as a staunch Trump loyalist, that if President — another time, elected President Trump were to ask him to do something like overturn election results, J.D. Vance would do that.

Do you see that happening? Do you share that concern?

Gov. Mike DeWine: No, but that’s going to — look, those things will play out during this campaign.

I mean, those are some of the things that are going to be debated in this campaign. There’s no doubt about that.

Amna Nawaz: You don’t share that concern at all, though, that he’s such a loyalist that he would do Donald Trump’s bidding regardless of what he is asked to do?

Gov. Mike DeWine: No, no.

Look, I have known him for some time. I don’t think so. But, look, I mean, thee two are aligned. I mean, this is not — some of the criticism has been, well, you should have picked somebody who he is not aligned with. Well, President Trump is not going to do that. That was never in the cards.

It was a question of, which person that’s aligned with him was he going to select? And we’re very happy in Ohio to have J.D. Vance on this ticket and excited about it.

Geoff Bennett: Governor, casting our focus a bit into the future, I imagine you’re a very popular man among elected Republicans right now, because, if the Trump/Vance ticket wins, you get to appoint his replacement in the Senate.

What are you looking for potentially if you get to make that choice?

Gov. Mike DeWine: Well, I’m really not going to get into that in much detail. Kind of the obvious things. You want someone who will do a good job in the United States Senate.

I spent 12 years in the Senate. I think I have a pretty good idea of what it takes. It takes someone who wants to work and someone who is focused on getting things done. The second thing is, of course, they have to be able to win. They have to be able to win a primary. The person who I would appoint would only serve two years. Then, if they want to stay in, they have got to run again. So they’re going to be right into a campaign.

So they have to be able to get through a primary and have to win a general election. So those are kind of the realities of it. But I think my experience in the Senate I think is helpful because it tells — I can tell pretty well, I think, who will do a good job in the United States Senate, at least as I envision that job.

Amna Nawaz: I’m going to ask you to look one more time into the future for us, if you will indulge.

And just reflect on this idea that we were living in a very different world just 48 hours ago. And I wonder how you think that this horrific assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life, how that changes the contours of this race and whether you think this pledge to continue to tamp down political rhetoric will be adhered to.

Gov. Mike DeWine: I don’t know that it changes whatever the outcome was going to be. I don’t know that. It could. But I don’t — sort of doubt that.

What I hope it changes is the division that we have in this country, this chasm that has been growing. We need to — this country, we have always fought out issues. We have always been — people disagree. But we have to remember the things that bring us together. There’s so many things that do in fact bring us together.

The last few days, if you listen to what both President Trump and President Biden have said, they have said all the right things, in my opinion. I hope this continues.

Geoff Bennett: Here we are in day one of this Republican National Convention.

In the minute that remains in our conversation, is that your metric of success for this convening, this gathering here, that folks focus on unity?

Gov. Mike DeWine: Well, I hope so. Look, I hope so.

Look, we’re not going to change differences overnight. People have certain opinions and they’re very, very different. I mean, we have seen the parties move farther and farther apart. But I think a sense of that we are all in this together, that we are a country, that we have to have a strong national defense, the things that we all agree on, we need to protect our country, we need our kids to be educated, we need our kids to learn how to read, I mean, these are all kind of basic things that we need to remind ourselves, hey, we agree on these things at least.

Then we have got other things.

(Laughter)

Geoff Bennett: Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, thanks so much for joining us.

Gov. Mike DeWine: Thank you.

(Crosstalk)

Geoff Bennett: Always a pleasure to speak with you.