Statement: JD Vance; Bad for Ohio, Bad for America

Donald Trump has announced that his Vice Presidential nominee and running mate will be Ohio Senator JD Vance. I have to hand it to Donald Trump for selecting the perfect running mate for his campaign. JD Vance truly embodies Trump's values—if you count having no values at all. Both excel at grifting, neither seems to hold any deeply rooted beliefs, and they simply adopt whatever position they think will get them elected. It's a match made in heaven, especially since neither can remember the other's name: Trump confuses Vance with Josh Mandel, and Vance confuses Trump with Hitler—a rather understandable mistake. You couldn't script a more fitting duo.

On a more serious note, Vance is a perfect example of everything that's wrong with Ohio and national politics. Aside from previously attacking his now running mate as "America's Hitler," he's stated that women should stay in abusive marriages, supported a nationwide abortion ban without exceptions for rape, introduced anti-LGBTQ legislation, spread dangerous and false conspiracy theories about trans people, and endorsed Trump's lies about the 2020 election. With this pick, Donald Trump makes clear what most of us already knew: he has no interest in serving as a President of all the people. With Project 2025 and a willing, sycophantic Vice Presidential pick, a second Trump presidency would be even more dangerous for American democracy than the first.

I believe, more firmly than ever, that anyone who claims to love freedom, liberty, democracy, and the great American experiment must cast a vote for Joseph Biden and Kamala Harris in November to ensure the promise of democracy is passed along to future generations.