Rachel Maddow Warns Trump Picked JD Vance Because He’s Sure He’ll Win ‘No Matter What Kind of Craziness’ Is on the Ticket | Video

JD Vance gave the keynote speech on the third night of the Republican National Convention, and during MSNBC’s coverage of the event, Rachel Maddow worried that Vance is on the GOP ticket not because he can convince undecided voters, but because Donald Trump is “quite sure” he’s going to win, “no matter what kind of craziness you put on the ticket.”

You can watch the video at the bottom of the page.

Maddow began with a deep dive into JD Vance’s personal history, noting that he’s best known for his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy. She noted that his military service in Iraq consisted of him working for the Marine Corps public affairs unit, and then got into his work history, which as Maddow explained at length began with an internship with right wing billionaire Peter Thiel, and consisted largely of working at jobs inspired by or literally arranged by Thiel.

“He got JD Vance a job at a biotech company in San Francisco. After JD Vance graduated from law school, Peter Thiel got him that job. Literally. The company’s CEO says explicitly that JD Vance was hired, quote, as a favor to Peter, meaning, as a favor to Peter Thiel,” Maddow explained, going on to list several other jobs Vance got as a result of knowing Thiel.

Maddow detoured briefly to note how “the Lord of the Rings” novels are especially popular with far right figures, including Thiel who has included direct references to the series in several of his ventures. And, she noted how Vance has done the same thing, after which she recounted one of Vance’s notable business failures, as well as his rather thin political experience.

“And that’s how he got to be the vice presidential nominee of the Republican Party right now. As internships go, that’s a really good internship. The choice of JD Vance to be Donald Trump’s running mate is reportedly a decision that was only made at the very last minute, like the day before it was announced,” Maddow continued, which brought her to her main point.

“You do not choose a person like Mr. Vance because you think you need help winning the election. When they chose JD Vance, they did not think they needed any help winning this next election,” the MSNBC host said. “If you’re trying to make up for some soft spots, some weaknesses in the Republican Party’s electoral prospects, you do not, for example, choose a vice presidential running mate who is on the record on tape taking this position: ‘I certainly would like abortion to be illegal nationally.’”

“I certainly would like abortion to be illegal nationally,” Maddow quoted. “2022, podcast interview, first on Earth by CNN today, in which JD Vance says, ‘I certainly would like abortion to be illegal nationally.’ Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, whatever you think about his politics and his political instincts, he’s been very open about the fact that he sees the Republicans’ strong stance against abortion, particularly a strong stance for a national abortion ban, as an electoral loser. Even though Mr. Trump is the one who orchestrated the overturning of Roe versus Wade and therefore the Republican abortion bans all over the country, Trump has admitted that strongly restrictive stances on abortion, particularly a nationally restrictive stance on abortion, will cost the Republicans elections they could otherwise win. So then why do you pick JD Vance to be a running mate?”

“If you are Donald Trump and you pick a running mate and you’re looking to pick a running mate to help your electoral prospects, because you’re worried about your chances of winning the election, you would never pick Mr. ‘I would certainly like abortion to be illegal nationally.’ You would never pick a national abortion ban guy, right?” she asked rhetorically.

“You would also not pick a guy who says we’re in a quote, ‘late Republican period,’ in this country. And he doesn’t mean capital R Republican. He means small r Republican, meaning we are at the end of being a republic,” Maddow continued, referring to the time Vance described the current state of the country as comparable to the end of the Roman Republic and implied support for a “wild” response from Republicans.

Maddow also pointed out that this concept comes from right wing activist Curtis Yarvin, a personal friend of Vance’s who endorses destroying American democracy and replacing it with a monarchy.

“That is who JD Vince has been citing when he talks about us being in a ‘late republican period’ as a country. That’s what he thinks about where we are as a country and where we should go as a country. You do not pick a man like that if you are worried about your electoral prospects,” Maddow went on.

She then noted that Vance’s mentor, Thiel, is also an outspoken opponent of democracy who has literally said that it is incompatible with “freedom.”

“If you are Donald Trump and the Republican party and you are worried about your ability to win this election in November, you would not pick JD Vance as your vice presidential candidate. You can only pick a candidate as out there as JD Vance if you’re really thoroughly quite sure that you’re going to win, no matter what kind of craziness you put on the ticket, and what you’re going to bring into the White House with you,” Maddow warned.

“JD Vance is not the guy you pick to win over suburban women or whatever. He’s not the persuade the undecideds guy. JD Vance is the guy you bring in to change the American system of government into whatever it is you think comes after us being a republic, and you only do that because you already think you have to the election in the back,” she added.

Maddow then tied this back to the ongoing discussion of Joe Biden’s fitness to run for office, concluding that “Democrats fear that the Republicans might be right and that therefore a radical change might be necessary to avert what Democrats Fear is an otherwise inevitable course. It is JD Vance night at the Republican National Convention, and to have that happening at the same time that this reporting is now surfacing about President Biden is as serious as a heart attack on both sides.”