
Who is the real JD Vance?
'I think there's a certain amount of cynicism and performative politics when it comes to politicians, especially at that level. But JD Vance seems to bring that to a whole new level,' she says.
Setmayer left the Republican party in 2020, after Donald Trump refused to concede the election. She tells Michael how Vance went from calling himself a 'Never Trump guy' to being picked as vice-president. They examine how Vance is using the role to lay the groundwork in order to inherit the Maga empire.
'When he started talking more about masculinity and traditional family values, you could see him leaning more into the Maga world's worst instincts.'
But what does JD Vance really believe?
Support the Guardian today: theguardian.com/todayinfocuspod

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
20 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Poll: Trump's crime approval rating soars past Biden
By Published: | Updated: Donald Trump's approval rating is currently higher than former President Joe Biden's when it comes to crime, CNN's senior political data reporter has revealed. In fact, the gap between the two was so big, Harry Enten used a Michael Jordan analogy to convey how the conservative was leagues above his predecessor when it came to their handling of the issue 'I think this sort of gives the game away here, because Donald Trump is like Air Jordan towering over Joe Biden when it comes to their handling of crime,' Enten said on Thursday's NewsCentral, referring to the iconic Nike sneakers named after the basketball star. The data-driven sermon came days after Trump's federal takeover of the police force in Washington DC over a disturbing slew of violent crimes in the capital. The figures showed Trump's net approval rating for crime sitting at +1 for his second term as of August, in contrast to the -13 he secured during his first. Biden, after one term, had a favorability of -26 points. Enten could not help but marvel at the 27 point gap between the two. 'I think that Democrats have to get it around their heads that Americans are far more hawkish on crime than they think that are,' he told Dana Bash. 'Where was he last year? He was way underwater at minus 13 points,' Enten continued. 'Americans view Trump far more favorably now on crime than they did a year ago.' ' Crime is one of Trump's best issues. It's one of the reasons why he wants to talk about crime because it favors him.' Enten then explained how the poll did not take into account 'what's exactly happening in DC right now,' but was still conducted after Trump deployed the National Guard to quash protests against ICE in LA. 'And Americans, for the most part, actually view Trump favorably,' Enten said, speaking from a national perspective. 'It'll be very interesting when you can see polling that what's happening right now settling in,' Bash, the network's chief political correspondent, observed. Enten responded with the 'Air Jordan analogy,' using it to convey what he saw as a clear consensus from Americans across the country 'Americans vastly prefer Donald Trump's approach to crime than they did to Joe Biden's,' he concluded, ogling the 27 point gap. 'And again, I think it gets back to the point that Americans are far more hawkish on crime than a lot of Democrats want to admit.' Enten added how Biden's score served as a reminder that crime was 'one' of the Democrat's 'worst issues.' 'Granted, pretty much every issue was one of Biden's worst issues,' he added. Many Democrats and liberals have expressed outrage over Trump's federal takeover from DC. Their criticisms have ranged from accusations of anti-black racism to claims Trump is acting like an authoritarian dictator. Statistics show crime has fallen in DC over the last year. But the capital is still plagued with violent lawlessness - much of it perpetrated by teenagers. Some liberal commenters have said many of their left-leaning friends are secretly happy about what Trump is doing and excited by the prospect of safer streets. Former MSNBC star Chris Matthews said his friends in the city won't walk more than three blocks from their homes after dark. Back on CNN, Enten also pointed to another poll, from May of this year, that showed Republicans' approach to quashing crime as a party were favored by Americans nationwide by an almost-as-impressive 16 points. 'They actually gained ground on crime. They were maintaining their edge and actually added a little bit to it,' Enten said. 'So Republicans in the House, Republicans in the Senate, they absolutely want to be talking about crime. 'The more they feel that we are talking about crime, the better they feel that electoral landscape is for them,' he concluded. Trump, on Monday, justified his takeover of the municipality by declaring a 'crime emergency'. Troops arrived there on Tuesday morning. He promised to address crime in the capital and other major cities during his 2024 campaign. The situation remains ongoing.


Daily Mail
22 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Mutiny at JD Vance's dinner date: Woke staff at Cotswolds gastro-pub threatened to walk out if US vice president attended - prompting a hasty venue switch
US vice president JD Vance is understood to have been forced to cancel a dinner reservation at a trendy Cotswolds gastro-pub after woke staff threatened to walk out if he showed up. Vance's family holiday with his wife, Usha Chilukuri, 39, and their three children, has sparked controversy this week with locals claiming their lives were 'made hell' by multiple car police convoys and buzzing helicopters. Even Jeremy Clarkson complained about the US politician's weeklong stay in the village of Dean near Charlbury in Oxford, saying the over-the-top security had affected filming for his show. Now it has emerged that the fashionable Bull pub at nearby Chipping Norton – which last month did entertain former US presidential Democrat candidate Kamala Harris – had to cancel a reservation Vance made because staff refused to serve him. The suggestion that woke staff had refused to wait on the right-wing Republican swept local communities earlier this week - before last night being run by gossip site Popbitch last night and today being picked up by publications around the world, including Yahoo News and The Daily Beast. The pub has doggedly declined to comment in response to media queries to confirm or deny that they had cancelled the VP's planned dinner. Richard Fairhurst, who runs the local Charlbury community blog told The Daily Mail today: 'It's very widely believed locally [that staff refused to serve Vance] but The Bull are keeping schtum.' Vice President JD Vance is understood to have been forced to cancel a dinner reservation after staff threatened to walk out if he showed up Another local, Clare Shakya, told us today: 'I am told by a reliable source that Bull staff did indeed object to JD Vance's visit. And their regulars have been backing them for it.' The showbiz blog Popbitch stated: 'The mutinous staff all said they wouldn't come to work if they had to serve Vance and his wife. Facing staff grumbles and a barrage of negative press attention The Bull refused his patronage.' The pub does offer private dining for up to 28 guests in the 'secret garden room', and Vance is thought to have earmarked this so he could get away from protestors angry at his stay in the Cotswolds. There are links between the country manor where Mr Vance has been staying all week and the Bull pub. The Bull is owned by the Bull Charlbury limited, a company who has three directors, one of whom is James Selwyn Gummer. His father, Tory peer Peter Selwyn Gummer, aka Lord Chadlington, of Dean, until recently owned Dean Manor - the very country house where Mr Vance has been staying all week. Lord Chadlington recently sold Dean Manor to Pippa and Johnny Hornby, also friends of David and Samantha Cameron, who rented the manor to Mr Vance. Following news of Vance's rejection from The Bull, the pub's Facebook page was flooded with comments by people both welcoming and condemning the decision. Jeremy Clarkson complained about the US politician's stay, saying the over-the-top security had affected filming for his show JD Vance sparked outrage when his huge security convoy took up all of the disabled parking spaces at a posh Cotswolds farm shop One said:' Thank you for standing up against fascism, corruption and evil.' Another added:' Your staff have excellent values and stood up to a bully an abominable excuse for a human being! We will visit and eat with you asap. Best wishes and treasure your staff.' However, one American replied: 'Glad we broke away from you [sic] worthless country. You are only relevant now because of the United States – you'd all be speaking German if it weren't for us. 'Our country became everything you Brits wanted to be; it took us far less time to do it.' Meanwhile, it emerged today that the suggestion of The Bull as a dinner venue may have originally been made to Vance by former Chancellor George Osborne The Financial Times reported that Osborne had organised much of the VP's Cotswolds itinerary after his old boss, David Cameron, who lives nearby, was contacted for advice on where to go - and he delegated the job. 'George did it all,' one source informed the FT. Another source added: 'David came up with a few ideas, but George did the rest.' Mr Vance and Mr Osborne are friends, with the latter revealing the cross-Atlantic bond on his Political Currency podcast last year. 'He's actually a friend of mine,' said Mr Osborne. 'He was an admirer of the Cameron government and what it had done.' When Vance arrived at his rented farmhouse in the hamlet of Dean, he was greeted with signs telling him to 'go home' and 'you are not welcome', and after staying for a week, he has now left for Scotland, but locals say he is expected back. The Bull was named pub of the year by the National Pub and Bar Awards. The pub, which dates back to the 16th Century, gets top reviews on and in The Good Food Guide and the staff are described as 'clued up, as well as boundlessly helpful'...unless, it seems, you happen to be the US Vice President. Renowned for its locally sourced meats and trademark £26 Bull Pie, the pub also offers lip-smacking £98 sirloin steaks, while bar snacks include £120 sweetcorn fritters and £6 pork pies. A bottle of Blanc de Noirs French champagne costs £100, while a more patriotic Sussex Nutty Vintage Brut is £70, and as you are asking, the most expensive drink on offer is a 1997 Vintage port at £20 a glass or £195 for the bottle. The Michelin Guide gives The Bull a 'bib gourmand', saying the venue is of 'good quality with good value food' adding that 'dining here is a hearty, satisfying experience'. The Bull would only say:' We have nothing to say.'


Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Trump heads to 'high stakes' Alaska summit with Putin on Ukraine
ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE/MOSCOW, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Donald Trump headed to Alaska on Friday for what he called a "high stakes" summit with Russia's Vladimir Putin to discuss a ceasefire deal for Ukraine to help end the deadliest war in Europe since World War Two. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was not invited to the talks, and his European allies fear Trump might sell out Ukraine by essentially freezing the conflict and recognising - if only informally - Russian control over one fifth of Ukraine. Trump sought to assuage such concerns as he boarded Air Force One, saying he would let Ukraine decide on any possible territorial swaps. "I'm not here to negotiate for Ukraine, I'm here to get them at a table," he said. Both the U.S. and Russian presidents, due to meet at a Cold War-era air force base in Alaska's largest city, are seeking wins from their first face-to-face talks since Trump returned to the White House. Trump, who casts the war as a "bloodbath" fraught with escalatory risk, is pressing for a truce in the 3-1/2-year-old war that would bolster his credentials as a global peacemaker worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize. For Putin, the summit is already a big win as he can use it to say that years of Western attempts to isolate Russia have unravelled and that Moscow has retaken its rightful place at the top table of international diplomacy. The summit, the first between a U.S. and Russian leader since 2021, was set to start at 11 a.m. Alaska time (1900 GMT). Trump, who once said he would end Russia's war in Ukraine within 24 hours, conceded on Thursday it had proven a tougher nut to crack than he thought. He said that if Friday's talks went well, quickly arranging a second three-way summit with Zelenskiy would be even more important than his encounter with Putin. "It's time to end the war, and the necessary steps must be taken by Russia. We are counting on America," Zelenskiy wrote on the Telegram messaging app on Friday, adding that the Trump-Putin meeting should open the way for a "just peace" and three-way talks with him included. Of Putin, Trump said on Friday: "He is a smart guy, been doing it for a long time but so have I... We get along, there's a good respect level on both sides." He also welcomed Putin's decision to bring a lot of businesspeople with him to Alaska. "But they're not doing business until we get the war settled," he said, repeating a threat of "economically severe" consequences for Russia if the summit goes badly. One source acquainted with Kremlin thinking said there were signs that Moscow could be ready to strike a compromise on Ukraine given that Putin understood Russia's economic vulnerability and costs of continuing the war. Reuters has previously reported that Putin might be willing to freeze the conflict along the front lines, provided there was a legally binding pledge not to enlarge NATO eastwards and to lift some Western sanctions. Russia, whose war economy is showing signs of strain, is vulnerable to further U.S. sanctions - and Trump has threatened tariffs on buyers of Russian crude, primarily China and India. "For Putin, economic problems are secondary to goals, but he understands our vulnerability and costs," the Russian source said. On the eve of the summit, Putin held out the prospect of something else he knows Trump wants - a new nuclear arms control agreement to replace the last surviving one, which is due to expire in February next year. The source familiar with Kremlin thinking said it looked as if the two sides had been able to find some common ground. "Apparently, some terms will be agreed upon... because Trump cannot be refused, and we are not in a position to refuse (due to sanctions pressure)," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the matter's sensitivity. Putin has so far voiced stringent conditions for a full ceasefire, but one compromise could be a truce in the air war. Putin has said he is open to a ceasefire but has repeatedly said the issues of verification need to be sorted out first. Zelenskiy has accused Putin of playing for time to avoid U.S. secondary sanctions and has ruled out formally handing Moscow any territory. Beyond territory, Ukraine has been clear in talks with Western allies that it needs a security guarantee backed by Washington. It is unclear how that guarantee could work - and what part the U.S. would play in it. Ukrainians who spoke to Reuters in central Kyiv on Friday were not optimistic about the Alaska summit. "Nothing good will happen there, because war is war, it will not end. The territories - we're not going to give anything to anyone," said Tetiana Harkavenko, a 65-year-old cleaner.