How 'normal' guides JD Vance's political worldview

The left has labeled JD Vance as weird. But "normal" has long been a platonic ideal that the vice president has aspired to in his personal life and centered in his political career.

Vice President JD Vance could hardly mask his delight.

Four minutes into his appearance on the conservative podcast “Ruthless” this summer, one of the co-hosts pronounced him a “really cool and normal guy.” With a twinkle in his eye, Vance turned toward the camera.

“Thank you!” he replied. “We can wrap the interview now.”

It was a revealing moment. Vance, 41, has spent so much of his life, from his traumatic upbringing in Ohio to his elite education at an Ivy League law school, striving for normalcy. It was also validation for someone whom Democrats have tried to brand as precisely the opposite of normal — as weird.