5 Takeaways From Vance’s Interview With The New York Times

Pressed to say if he thought the 2020 election was stolen, JD Vance repeatedly sidestepped. And he defended the sentiment behind his “childless cat ladies” comment, even as he regretted his word choice.

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Senator JD Vance of Ohio, former President Donald J. Trump’s running mate, recently sat down for an hourlong conversation with “The Interview,” a New York Times podcast.

JD Vance keeps showing up.

The Republican vice-presidential nominee and first-term senator from Ohio is talking to reporters at campaign rallies. He is scheduling network and cable interviews. And he is sitting down with The New York Times.

Something has shifted in American politics when it is noteworthy that a candidate willingly faces one unscripted question after another. But here we are.

In his latest appearance with the news media, Mr. Vance sat down with Lulu Garcia-Navarro, co-host of “The Interview,” a New York Times podcast that features an hourlong conversation with a single guest every Saturday.

Here are five takeaways from Mr. Vance’s interview:

His critics call him spineless. He says he is complex.

Donald J. Trump seems unlikely to describe himself as reflective. Mr. Vance cannot stop.

The interview opens with Ms. Garcia-Navarro telling Mr. Vance that, as she prepared for their meeting, a persistent question emerged from people: “Which JD is going to show up?”

It is not the most flattering question for a politician, but Mr. Vance does not flinch. Instead, he embraces it, saying that holding conflicting opinions and emotional complexities is “sort of the nature of being an American in 2024.”

“Isn’t that how most people are?” he said. “Sometimes they’re frustrated with what’s going on in the country. Sometimes they are a little bit more optimistic. Sometimes it’s both, right?”

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