As the U.S. presidential elections near, gossip is ironically growing outside the shadows of the candidates of the Democratic and Republican Party, Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, respectively. The support cast is now more in the news, especially the vice-presidential nominees, Tim Walz (Democrat) and J.D. Vance (Republican). On their margins, other bit players are surfacing too. One is Liz Cheney, daughter of George Bush’s Vice President, Dick Cheney, and the other is Melania Trump, wife of Mr. Trump.
The sudden spotlight
It did not begin that way. While an estimated 58 million watched the 2020 vice presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris, this time, on October 1, when Mr. Vance and Mr. Walz squared off, there were just 43 million viewers, a clear 25% drop.
There is good reason for that. With Mr. Trump, there are no waverers. One either loves him to distraction or hates every coiffed hair on his head. Against this backdrop, vice presidents matter little as most of the fences are free of sitters. Mr. Trump’s appeal has drummed them out and this further undermines who the vice president will be.
That both the contestants, Mr. Vance and Mr. Walz, were civil to each other made it even more inconsequential. There was no fur flying, nor blood on the floor. That would never have been the case if Mr. Trump had been in the ring. This is why it is surprising that the sequel is now attracting notice, well after the show is over.
Those in the Republican trenches, who are seasoned Trump warriors, are unhappy that Mr. Vance did not protest loudly enough that the Democrats “stole the 2020 elections”, as Republicans have been alleging for a long time. To make matters worse, he shook hands with Mr. Walz at the start and end of the debate and chatted amicably for a while with the Democrat. Why not an embrace, Trumpists ask? After all, by the end, the two looked like childhood sweethearts, parting sadly before going off to college.
An image makeover
Mr. Walz is having a hard time too, and for a similar reason. Democratic workers also view the debate’s congeniality negatively. Mr. Walz, they say, did not hit Mr. Vance hard enough for scandalously calling Haitians in Ohio “pet-eating, illegal migrants”. This gave Mr. Trump’s image a makeover, weakening Ms. Harris’s portrayal of him as a rule-breaking win-at-all-cost leader.
When Fred Warner, the 6 foot 3 inch, 230 pound American football linebacker, ran a touchdown late last month, one TV viewer said, without intending a double entendre, “That’s my Trump.” Linebackers rarely score touchdowns as they play defence and are amongst the strongest members in the team. Mr. Trump, like Mr. Warner, is big too and ready to break conventions, if that lets him win. Kid Rock, a rapper, said he supports Mr. Trump because he hates losing and not “because he’s a nice guy. I’m not electing the deacon of a Church.”
On the other hand, Ms. Harris’s running mate, Mr. Walz, radiates a good neighbourly feel; ever ready to mow your lawn or repair a fuse. Great, but can he fight back, if he has to? Americans love a fighter, especially in a politician.
The backstories behind Mr. Walz and Mr. Vance are now getting more attention as if they might tip the scales. As Minnesota Governor, Mr. Walz passed many liberal laws on abortion, affordable housing and LGBTQ rights. That doesn’t make him a soft touch, though. Larry Jacobs, a political scientist from Minnesota University , thinks Mr. Walz has “attack dog” skills. But on debate night, he was Mr. Affable.
Mr. Vance’s past too is in the news. He is widely acknowledged for his Yale Law School-honed knife sharp intellect. He can run through flab and pierce your heart clean. Yet, when he faced Mr. Walz, Mr. Vance was not the ripper he is often cut out to be. To his credit, his meteoric rise is phenomenal, considering his parents were dysfunctional.
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‘Republicans for Democrats’
The spotlight on Ms. Harris’s election trip to Wisconsin last week was to showcase Liz Cheney, rather than herself. A prominent Republican with a Republican heritage, Ms. Cheney now supports Ms. Harris for she fears Mr. Trump will harm democracy. John McCain’s son, Jimmy McCain, too is going with Ms. Harris, adding to the numbers of “Republicans for Democrats” — a never-before grouping.
These Republicans are clearly not giving up their ideology but claim it is a temporary measure for the lasting good of democracy. It is doubtful if they can swing voters towards Ms. Harris but it is a cheesy, uplift photo op that can do no harm. Ms. Cheney, if truth be told, was earlier effortlessly pushed to the Republican sidelines by Mr. Trump and nobody in the party stood up for her.
Melania Trump is also getting huge publicity because in her just-released, tell-all memoir, she goes sensationally against her husband and sides with pro-choice abortionists. This is the hottest potato issue in this election and something that Ms. Harris is banking on exploiting to the full. Democrats are wishing in vain for another debate when they could rub salt in Mr. Trump’s recently opened wound.
The U.S. is slowly returning to the boredom with elections that was apparent before the Trump-Harris debate. The climatic end is over three weeks away and newscasters are doing their best to keep the nation’s interest alive. That is probably why the supporting cast is centre stage. But before you switch off the lights, take a peek. Mr. Trump can pull out a late-night surprise.
Dipankar Gupta is a former Professor at the Centre for the Study of Social Systems, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Published – October 08, 2024 12:15 am IST
