JD Vance’s Less Pleasant Patrick Bateman Impression Almost Worked Until Tim Walz Asked A Simple Question
Vance can’t bury the Big Lie.
JD Vance’s performance at Tuesday’s vice presidential debate reminded me of Patrick Bateman’s (Christian Bale) monologue at the beginning of American Psycho: “There is an idea of a Patrick Bateman. Some kind of abstraction. But there is no real me. Only an entity. Something illusory. And though I can hide my cold gaze, and you can shake my hand and feel flesh gripping yours, and maybe you can even sense our lifestyles are probably comparable, I simply am not there.”
Vance made every effort last night to not be there — at least not the desperate incel no one likes. Vance is the least popular candidate on either presidential ticket, and the least popular VP candidate in recorded history. He also struggles with ordering doughnuts.
However, he did manage to mostly convey the image of a smarmy conservative Bircher who can reasonably articulate policy positions even if they don’t make much sense. Anti-Trump Republicans miss those guys. It’s probably why most of them think Vance won.
Prior to the debate, David Frum had argued that Vance is just “better informed” than Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and thinks quicker on his feet than the former high school coach. He’s someone who might successfully sell you a certified preowned car and then blame Haitian immigrants when it breaks down immediately after you drive it off the lot.
Vance’s strategy presumably was to lie relentlessly and Gish gallop over Walz. CBS announced last week that it wouldn’t actually fact-check any egregious whoppers, as ABC News’ David Muir and Linsey Davis did during the debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Republicans protested most bitterly about the fact-checking, which they argued clearly benefitted Harris, who’s not a pathological liar.
Instead, CBS said it would put up a QR code on screen during the debate that would redirect viewers to a CBSNews.com blog offering real-time fact-checking. That seemed overly complicated, almost deliberately so — like trying to cancel your Columbia House Records Club membership. The business model relies on you just giving up and accepting new lies on a regular basis. You didn’t really want JD Vance’s Greatest Racist Hits but now you’re stuck with it.
CBS claimed it would leave the fact-checking to the candidates, rendering the process irrelevant, as viewers would think any false statements were a simply a difference of opinion. Without active fact-checking, CBS was just offering an evening of moral relativity.
Vance lied a lot, perhaps most shamelessly about his position on abortion, which his own website refuted. He lied about protecting people with pre-existing health conditions. He lied about climate change. He lied when he said Donald Trump peacefully surrendered power on January 6 (Trump has two separate indictments stating otherwise). He lied with the glib assurance of someone who can stand on a debate stage and say absolutely anything because he stands for absolutely nothing.
CBS moderator Margaret Brennan did shock Vance when she pointed out that the Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, who he has shamelessly demonized for political gain, do in fact have legal status. (Watch below.)
Vance immediately whined, “The rules were you guys weren’t going to fact check!” He didn’t pretend that he was telling the truth. How dare the moderators lie about the rules he hoped would let him lie with impunity!
Fox News complained about the “biased” moderators, of course, and Megyn Kelly had a total breakdown on social media: “F You CBS — How DARE YOU!” The rest of her message read as if written on a severed ear: “Tried to fact check. JD put you in your place. You WONT HIM FIGHT YOU AND YOU WONT LET THEM DEBATE.”
No escaping the Big Lie
Tim Walz was perhaps more genial than I would’ve preferred. He mostly engaged with Vance as though he were someone with whom he had profound disagreements but was otherwise a respectable human being. He delivered some solid answers on abortion and school shootings.
Walz hit Trump hard for blowing off the traumatic brain injuries US troops received from Iranian missiles under his watch. Trump said they’d suffered mere “headaches.” (Watch below, courtesy of Aaron Rupar.)
However, the folks who thought Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro was a better VP pick might have felt vindicated in their opinion. Walz’s Midwest nice wasn’t always effective, and Vance might’ve clearly won the debate if not for Donald Trump. As much as he could deceive, inveigle and obfuscate on policy, he couldn’t evade the Big Lie. That requires nothing less than complete submission to Trump’s psychosis.
So, when Walz asked Vance directly if Trump lost the 2020 election, Vance could only offer the clearly prepared line, “Tim, I’m focused on the future.” This isn’t hard — Trump obviously lost — but it’s like King Henry’s Oath of Supremacy. The Mad MAGA king will banish you from his court if you don’t swear allegiance to him above everything else, including observable reality. (Vance had earlier insisted in a North Korean-style confession that he was “wrong” when he criticized Trump and was led astray by the evil media.)
Vance’s refusal to recognize any reality unpleasant to Trump gave Walz the opening to point out how craven and untrustworthy he is. There’s no need to fact check this. The evidence is Vance’s very presence on the ticket. Mike Pence was once Trump’s Thomas More but he was almost murdered on January 6 when he showed a glimmer of conscience and respect for the law.
“When Mike Pence made that decision to certify the election, that’s why Mike Pence isn’t on this stage,” Walz said. “America, I think you’ve got a really clear choice on who’s going to honor Democracy and who’s going to honor Donald Trump.”
“Why is JD Vance Trump’s running mate instead of Mike Pence?” was the most important question of the evening, perhaps the only relevant question, but unfortunately, the topic wasn’t even broached until the final moments, when many viewers had already switched over to the baseball playoffs.
Yet, that was the moment JD Vance was unable to hide his cold gaze. That was the moment the real Vance was present, and it should remind voters how pathetic yet truly dangerous he actually is.
I hope you’ll consider becoming a paid subscriber for $80 a year or just $8 a month, if you’re not already. This helps sustain the newsletter and keeps all the content free for everyone.
Follow Stephen Robinson on Bluesky and Threads.
Subscribe to his YouTube channel for more fun content.
“[Walz] mostly engaged with Vance as though he were someone with whom he had profound disagreements but was otherwise a respectable human being.“
It was kind of jarring, watching a debate in which one of the participants treated the other with respect and dignity. At first glance, it seemed “weak” and indicative of a candidate who had failed to sharpen his weapons before entering the arena. Then I realized I’ve been conditioned to react that way, by years of opponents squaring off at each other by screaming, insulting, and lying lying all the time. It was kind of refreshing to see a candidate demonstrate some basic human empathy. Seems like it took everybody, especially JD, off-guard. You mean, we don’t HAVE to turn every debate into a fight to the death? Huh. I kind of remember when some of our political leaders had that sort of grace and didn’t call each other a “pussy” when they were confronted with it.
Great summary, thanks Stephen!
Those last moments are now a Harris/Walz ad with accompanying J6 footage. That’s how fast their campaign media works. We’ll be hearing that exchange many, many times. Vance got caught out by Walz as effectively as Harris caught out Trump.