Hillbilly Hero Ascends

Plus, an unlikely friendship.

The Flag

Good morning and Happy Wednesday! Plus: Here are the Flag’s Top Five stories that should be on your radar to start the day:

  • US: Sen. Bob Menendez found guilty on all counts, including acting as foreign agent, in federal corruption trial (ABC News)

  • World: Israeli strikes in southern, central Gaza kill more than 60 Palestinians, including in ‘safe zone’(AP)

  • Business: Dollar General will pay $12 million in fines over workplace safety violations (NPR)

  • Technology: Exa raises $17M from Lightspeed, Nvidia, Y Combinator to build a Google for AIs (TechCrunch)

  • Sports: WR Brandon Aiyuk requests trade from 49ers, sources say (ESPN)

And of course, some good news: How a Holocaust survivor and an Illinois teen struck up an unlikely friendship.

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Right: Trump and the Vance Calculation, Byron York, Washington Examiner

Left: Telling Truth About Trump Is Not Inciting Violence, Jan-Werner Mueller, The Guardian

Left: Trump Wins Again: Judge Squashes DOJ Overreach, Jonathan Turley, USA Today

Left: JD Vance Is the GOP's Next-Gen Authoritarian, Christopher Mathias, HuffPost

2024

Hillbilly Hero Ascends

Today’s Top Story in One Sentence: On Monday, Former President Donald Trump announced Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his 2024 running mate.

Reporting from the Right: Trump announces Ohio Sen JD Vance as his 2024 running mate (Fox News)

Reporting from the Left: Trump picks Ohio Sen. JD Vance for vice president (NBC News)

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

This Is the New GOP

The Top Argument From The Right: J. D. Vance Pick Represents Another Nail in Coffin of Reagan Republicanism, Philip Klein, National Review: “During his short political career, Vance (who, at 39, was born after The Karate Kid debuted in theaters) has been a leader of a movement aimed at wrestling away the Republican Party from the orthodoxy of free markets and muscular foreign policy. Instead, Vance’s vision is for a Republican Party that embraces large government programs, is more open to taxing corporations, that shows more foreign-policy restraint, and that wields the power of the state in the culture wars. … From 1980 until Trump’s nomination in 2016, the Republican Party was dominated by Reagan’s version of three-legged-stool conservatism. During Trump’s first term, despite his populist rhetoric, Trump was heavily influenced by this tradition. As his running mate, he picked Mike Pence, who started his life as a Democrat until the Reagan era. … As popular as he was with the party’s voters, first-term Trump still felt the need to pay a certain tribute to those who had run the party before he initiated a hostile takeover. In 2016, Trump won the primaries but faced significant opposition that persisted past the convention. The party adopted a platform that was mostly the same as what had come before. Even those who didn’t directly oppose Trump treated him as somewhat of a temporary intruder. At this point, however, there isn’t much debate over who is in control of the party. In this election, Trump never faced a serious challenge to the nomination, and there isn’t an effort to try and oust him at the convention.”

Honorable Mention #1: JD Vance is an atrocious choice as Trump running mate, Quin Hillyer, Washington Examiner.

Honorable Mention #2: Trump Bets on a MAGA Successor in J.D. Vance, The Editorial Board, The Wall Street Journal.

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

A Hypocrite

The Top Argument From The Left:Trump Chose J.D. Vance Because He “Sucked Up Effectively”, Edith Olmsted, The New Republic: “A Fox News analyst said people would question why exactly Donald Trump had picked J.D. Vance as his running mate, considering his lack of experience and former status as a Never Trump Republican. Vance has talked his fair share of smack about the former president, saying Trump could be ‘America’s Hitler,’ accused him of committing serial sexual assault, and calling him ‘one of USA’s most hated, villainous, douchey celebs.’ But as Trump has amassed more power in the run-up to November, it seems that Vance has finally changed his tune. To many, though, it’s unclear why Trump would want to work with Vance at all. … Brit Hume, a chief political analyst for Fox, said Monday night that many voters would be asking that question, and offered up a possible theory for Trump’s choice. … ‘Did he get it because he was really the best qualified to be president? Or did he get it because he sucked up effectively to the nominee?’ said Hume. ‘People will have questions about that.’ … Although Vance reportedly divided Trump’s donors, he was the “little pet” of one of Trump’s campaign managers, Susie Wiles, according to one anonymous GOP strategist. He also had a number of powerful backers in Trump’s inner circle, including Trump’s sons, Don Jr. and Eric, as well as Tucker Carlson and Elon Musk.”

Honorable Mention #1: What J.D. Vance really believes, Zach Beauchamp, Vox.

FLAG THIS

Is Vance the Right Choice?

Less than a third (27%) of U.S. adults believe Sen. JD Vance is either the "best" or a "good" choice as former President Trump's running mate, according to YouGov polls. A plurality (37%) are "not sure" if he is a good choice, while 16% say the decision is "neither good nor bad." Of those with a positive opinion, 12% think Vance is "the best possible pick" and 15% say he is "a good pick, but not the best." Conversely, 20% view the selection negatively, with 11% calling him a "bad pick, but not the worst," and 9% labeling him "the worst possible pick." (The Hill)

Do you believe Vance is the right choice to be Trump's running mate?

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WATERCOOLER

Disneyland, Read More, Liquor Before Wheel

On This Day in 1955, Disneyland, Walt Disney’s metropolis of nostalgia, fantasy and futurism, opened. The $17 million theme park was built on 160 acres of former orange groves in Anaheim, California, and soon brought in staggering profits. Today, Disneyland hosts more than 18 million visitors a year, who spend close to $3 billion.

Today I learned Humans invented alcohol before we invented the wheel.

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Did you know some credit cards can actually help you get out of debt faster? Yes, it sounds crazy. But it’s true. The secret: Find a card with a “0% intro APR" period for balance transfers. Then, transfer your debt balance and pay it down as much as possible during the intro period. No interest means you could pay off the debt faster. Check out the full list of cards you can use to do this here. Check out the full list of cards you can use to do this here.

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