Trump Praises JD Vance: ‘Really Stepped Up’

 Former President Donald Trump praised his running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) on Thursday after Vance faced a barrage of attacks from the Harris campaign and the legacy media.

Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz have stuck on labeling Vance as “weird,” and Walz even referenced a completely fabricated story about Vance during his first rally with Harris earlier this week. Despite some in the media suggesting Trump is regretting tapping Vance, the former president reaffirmed his confidence in his running mate during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

“I have to tell you, JD Vance has really stepped up. He’s doing a fantastic job,” Trump said.

Trump added that along with agreeing to three presidential debates on Fox News, NBC, and ABC in September, his team has agreed to a vice presidential debate on CBS, but he did not say when that debate would be held. The Republican nominee added that Harris still has to agree to the terms of the debates.

“We have spoken to the heads of the networks and it’s all been confirmed other than some fairly minor details,” Trump said.

 

Among numerous questions reporters hurled at Trump during the news conference, Trump was asked his thoughts on Harris skipping over Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and going with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate.

“I think she had some good choices, but Josh Shapiro is not one of them,” he said. “He’s caused a lot of damage with a lot of people. I don’t think he would’ve been better.”

Trump’s praise for Vance comes a day after the Republican vice presidential candidate addressed reporters waiting for Harris outside of Air Force Two on Wednesday, saying, “I figured I’d come by … I also thought you guys may get lonely because the vice president doesn’t answer questions from reporters and hasn’t for seventeen days.”

Vance has also blasted Walz, telling reporters on Tuesday, “They make an interesting tag team because of course Tim Walz allowed rioters to burn down Minneapolis in the summer of 2020, and then the few who got caught, Kamala Harris helped bail them out of jail.”