Trump showed up at the Republican National Convention just days after the event with a bandage on his ear and a troubling announcement that Ohio Senator JD Vance would be his running mate for the upcoming election. “Conversion seems to be an integral element of his personality,” Jeet Heer wrote this week of Vance, who not only became a Catholic just five years ago but has also completely abandoned his never-Trumpism, for obvious reasons. During his speech at the RNC, Vance attempted to appeal to voters through his working-class upbringing and anti-elitist position. But let us not be fooled, Chris Lehmann urged, writing from the convention floor, for “much of Vance’s seat-of-the-pants critique of the American political economy is distinctly blurry and self-serving.”

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party continues to fumble and fight, as several top party leaders, including former president Barack Obama, have raised concerns about Biden’s staying in the race. Many top Democrats are warning that the president, who recently contracted Covid-19, doesn’t have what it takes to beat Trump in 2024. So why, Jeet Heer asked, are progressives still pushing for his ticket? “The congressional left is taking a big risk,” he writes, “but there is no safe option right now, and nothing dishonorable about their leap in the dark.”

-Alana Pockros

Engagement Editor, The Nation

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