DALLAS — Vice President JD Vance on Thursday offered his young family — in particular, his newborn son — as a model and a window to the future that the potential 2028 presidential contender envisions for America.
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contender → offer → America
In a speech here at the Republicans’ midterm convention, Vance broadly criticized Democrats who he said do not share his values.
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he → criticize → values
He also homed in specifically on two Democratic candidates this fall in Michigan: Senate hopeful Abdul El-Sayed and Will Lawrence, who is seeking a House seat.
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who → home → seat
Vance seized on Lawrence’s since-deleted social media posts that were critical of the nuclear family.
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that → seize → family
“I’ve thought a lot, ladies and gentlemen, about what is the birthright of this newest of Americans, my little boy,” Vance told the crowd at American Airlines Center.
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Vance → think → Center
“And I think about what the Democrats have said about our shared birthright as Americans or, frankly, the lack thereof.”
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Democrats → think → Americans
He added a moment later, “To the radicals who wish to abolish my family and the thousands and millions of other families all across our country, we have a simple message for them: Stay the hell away from our kids!”
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we → add → kids
Vance’s speech on the convention’s closing night represented something of an unofficial passing of the torch from the term-limited Trump to his 42-year-old vice president, who is seen as a leading candidate for president in two years.
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who → represent → years
At one point, the audience broke out with chants of “48! 48!”
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audience → break → 48
Vance would be the 48th president if he succeeds Trump.
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he → succeed → Trump
“We’ve got to take care of business this November,” Vance replied, sticking to his common refrain when he is confronted with speculation about his White House ambitions.
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he → get → ambitions
“Then we’ll worry about what comes next.”
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what → worry → ?
Later, in a moment that captured the unique dynamic of playing understudy to a president who relishes being the center of attention, Vance passed the torch back.
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Vance → capture → torch
Trump, who spoke for an hour and 45 minutes the night before, returned to the stage for closing remarks that lasted about 25 minutes.
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that → speak → remarks
While Trump’s words Wednesday and Thursday effectively made the midterms a referendum on his time in office, Vance offered a more forward-looking case that at times scanned as his case for what should come next.
“I can’t help but think about what it is that we’re fighting for and what it is that we want for all of our children,” Vance said.
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Vance → make → children
“What I want for my family, I want for your family, too.”
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I → want → family
He added: “This country was handed down to us by our parents and their parents before them.
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country → add → them
We received this national birthright, and we are going to fight for it by electing Republicans this November.”
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we → receive → Republicans
A person close to Vance told NBC News that he will begin giving a White House bid more serious thought after the November elections and is not necessarily expected to reach or announce an immediate decision.
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he → tell → decision
Republicans routinely mention Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as Trump’s two likeliest successors.
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Republicans → mention → successors
Rubio, who ran for president in 2016, has said he does not plan to run and has signaled that Vance will have his support if he does.
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he → run → support
Another potential 2028 contender, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, spoke during Thursday’s convention program.
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contender → speak → program
He focused his remarks tightly on 2026 races, leveling criticism at Democratic Senate candidates such as El-Sayed and Texas state Rep. James Talarico.
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He → focus → Sayed
“As one Democrat president put it long ago, before his party had lost their ever-loving minds, we have a rendezvous with destiny,” Cruz said, invoking Franklin Roosevelt.
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Cruz → put → Roosevelt
“Together, we must stand and fight for the Constitution.
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we → stand → Constitution
We must stand and fight for freedom.
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We → stand → freedom
We must stand and defeat the communists.
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We → stand → communists
We must stand and defeat the Islamists.”
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We → stand → Islamists
Cruz, who also ran in 2016, has made several moves over the last year to position himself against Vance.
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who → run → Vance
Those moves have not escaped Vance’s notice.
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moves → escape → notice
When he was asked at a White House briefing last week about Cruz’s prospects, Vance offered a sarcastic reply: “Clearly, Ted is a very authentic and likable guy, and I’m sure he’ll do great.”
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he → ask → reply
Vance, like others who spoke Thursday, also used his speech to reflect on his friendship with conservative activist Charlie Kirk on the first anniversary of his assassination.
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who → speak → assassination
He offered a message to Kirk’s two young children.
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He → offer → children
“I hope that one day they will watch and they will know and they will understand what I’m trying to say to them tonight,” Vance said.
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Vance → hope → them
“History will record that your father was a great man.”
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father → record → ?
At another point, Vance was briefly interrupted by what he said was a protester waving Mexico’s flag.
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he → interrupt → flag
“Well, my friend,” Vance responded, “if you love Mexico so much, get your ass over there.
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you → respond → ass
I’ll buy you the plane ticket.”
Vance, known for his conservative populism, also made overtures to more moderate and independent voters.
“
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Vance → buy → voters
Look, I’m not asking anybody to agree with me on every single issue.
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I → look → issue
I’m not asking anybody to agree on every single policy of the administration,” he said.
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he → ask → administration
…and 28 more, not listed.
The Aporia
