The role of the vice presidents

‘It seems clear that a vote for (Donald) Trump is really a vote for his running mate,’ Senator J.D. Vance, noted historian Heather Cox Richardson in her daily Letters from an American when addressing the growing idea that an increasingly out of control Trump will eventually leave the government in the hands of Vance.

Trump is 78 years old and Vance 39, and the replacement would not necessarily be in the position, but rather who would assume the burden of work and decisions. Democrats argue that the Republican presidential nominee’s “disturbing” signs of mental decline will eventually leave Vance in charge.

With Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the Democratic nomination, Trump became the oldest of the contenders.

And beyond being the one who ends up running the government, according to that vision, Vance would ensure that Republicans - and himself - have every advantage in the 2028 elections.

Attorney Chris Truax, who served 20 years ago as chairman in California for Republican John McCain’s presidential campaign, says Vance is more dangerous than Trump. Born James Donald Bowman, he is known for an autobiography where he recounts his development from hillbilly to millionaire financial adviser to senator from Ohio.

Vance “is smart, articulate, and as a Yale-trained lawyer, he doesn’t talk too much. He knows exactly what he says and why. You can take what he says both literally and seriously,” Truax wrote in The Hill.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is the running mate of Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. At 60 years old, he is considered a progressive politician, but not outside the party’s traditional currents. He is a hunting enthusiast and a gun owner, but a supporter of controls, a defender of the middle class.

And as with Harris, he benefits as much from the mistakes, exaggerations and lies of his rivals as from his own successes. But that puts the Democratic duo in an aggressive, but reactive position, in which they sometimes seem like the challenging duo and not the incumbents of the government.

The vice presidential candidates have been “attack dogs” during the campaigns, and although Vance and Walz maintain that stance, their debate on October 1 was praised for its civility and the absence of insults.

Rarely in US history has there been such scrutiny of a vice presidential candidate, as opposed to what happened at the beginning of the republic, when the post was assigned to the loser of the presidential election, which did little for collaboration, then became one of political commitment - balancing attractiveness with geographic regions, age, or political connections.

The role of vice presidents has changed over the past 40 years. George H.W. Bush was a very influential one, especially on foreign policy issues under a boss like Ronald Reagan, whom he succeeded. Al Gore was an important factor in Bill Clinton’s presidency and although he failed in the attempt to succeed him, he gave a new impetus to the actions of vice presidents, which Dick Cheney, under George W Bush, strengthened. He was assured of having initiative on many issues. Barack Obama had a second, Biden, who provided him with the depth and foreign policy experience that he lacked.

All were valuable in their relationship and ability to negotiate with Congress. As presidents pro tempore of the Senate, they have been forced to preside and vote to break ties.

Nota publicada originalmente en el Heraldo de México