Column: Tim Ryan lost a Senate seat to J.D. Vance, but learned this: Vance really is ‘weird’

Hello and happy Tuesday. There are 97 days until the election, and things are getting weird. J.D. Vance weird.

No, I’m not talking about the false but salacious stories of sofa molestation or even the equally doubtful dolphin porn. I’m talking good, old-fashioned playground-slur weird.

You may have noticed that in the whirlwind of recent days, the Democrats have switched up their messaging. No longer is Donald Trump a dictator in waiting. He’s just a strange old man.

As for J.D., he’s an odd young fellow, that one.

But what’s behind the switch-up in language? And will it work?

I asked former Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan — a Democrat who lost a Senate race to Vance in 2022 — to help make sense of it. Here’s our conversation, lightly edited, because not editing would be weird.

Ohio Senate candidate Tim Ryan meets Somali community members in 2022.

(Andrew Spear / Getty Images)

Is he or isn’t he?

Chabria: So Tim, you spent a long time campaigning against J.D. Vance. Is he weird?

Ryan: Oh, there’s no doubt. There’s no doubt. He’s a weird guy. I know that he’s got probably a lot of trauma and that stuff but he’s very uncomfortable in his own skin and I think a very insecure guy. And not to play barstool psychologist, I think he just wants to control his outer world. He wants a Caesar to come in and take over the country. Trump is really vehicle for him, through a strongman, to gain some stability.

Chabria: It was (Minnesota Gov. and VP contender) Tim Walz who started this pivot toward the language of weird and strange. Walz said of Trump, “These are weird people on the other side. They want to take books away. They want to be in your exam room.”

Do you think that message resonates more for your constituency in the Midwest? Why do you think it’s caught on so much, as opposed to, you know, a “threat to democracy”?

Ryan: Well, it’s less scary. When you scare people into the mode of like, ‘Oh, s—,” then you get in the fight-or-flight mode and you’re not engaging your brain in the way you think, the way you need to.

And nobody wants to be more scared than they already are. We’re scared about climate, scared about democracy, scared about the economy. I mean, there’s only so much that people will pay attention to if you’re just going to try to freak them out.

The weird thing, on the other hand, has a different entry point in your brain. Like, I think J.D. wears mascara. I’ve seen him, and I’m like, huh.

But I’ve never said it publicly, because I’m like, is that [mascara], is it? I mean, I’ve seen it on my wife, but, you know. You kind of doubt yourself because it’s so weird.

But I think the weird thing can easily enter your brain and you get planted in your brain. It’s kind of a reverse on how Trump does his psychological operations on people, you know, like little Marco [Rubio], and low energy Jeb [Bush].

[Note: The internet has been buzzing with speculation on whether Vance wears eyeliner.]

He plants that seed, and it’s so clear of a truth that Jeb Bush walked right into it, just by being Jeb Bush. And little Marco walked into it, just by being a little Marco with his platform shoes.

Now it’s like everything J.D. does, this is the same thing we were worried about with President Biden. Everything Biden was going to do was going to play into the narrative that had already firmed up around his age, then the debate. So it didn’t matter, he could do a great press conference, but he called Kamala Trump, and that’s all that was going to be fed into the broader narrative.

And so I think that’s where Trump and J.D. are now. Now J.D. is a weirdo in everybody’s mind, and so everything he does is going to be weird. Now everything they’re doing is looking odd, and everything J.D. does is going to be odd because the seed has now been planted.

Just from a guy standing in Ohio looking at what’s going on, this is really good for Democrats.

Does weird change votes?

Chabria: Do you think this messaging might actually sway some voters?

Ryan: I think Trump and Vance are in real trouble.

Chabria: I’m writing about the weird thing, but also, there’s a serious part to it, right? I mean, they are saying some really extreme things. Do you think that we should take them seriously?

Ryan: I think they absolutely would do what they say they’re going to do, in [Project] 2025 and all the rest.

But I don’t think the average voter, the low information voter, so to speak, they’re not going to vote on all that stuff. You know, they’re going to vote on who’s cool and who’s weird, or who’s got the energy and positivity.

And I think we’re moving into a more optimistic time. I think people are really ready. If it was Biden, Trump, it’s like two old guys.

But when you get generational change and you get “happy warrior” vs. “cranky old guy” and “cranky young guy,” [voters] are going to go with the positive energy. There’s just a good vibe to it.

And so I think you’ve got to take it seriously, but that can’t be your entire doom-and-gloom message. Nobody wants to rally around that.

You rally around optimism and positivity, and that’s where [Democrats] are. I think the weird thing is just a great entry point that lays a great foundation. It frames the issue up in a good way.

And if it’s a guy like Walz, he’s going to be able to do that in a down home way that doesn’t come off as condescending or cocky. He’s a good person. I served with him in Congress. He’s an old friend. Good guy, good human being, smart, strategic Minnesotan.

I texted our buddies and was like, he’s got to play “Purple Rain” when he comes out [at rallies].

Chabria: Any last thoughts on J.D.?

Ryan: The only last thing I would probably say is J.D. is not anywhere near prime time. He’s just — he’s been able to kind of bulls— his way here, and then the big lights come out, the bright lights come out, and he’s not ready.

And it’s just hilarious to me that it was Don Jr. and Eric Trump that talked their dad into it. That is a beautiful thing.

What else you should be reading

The must-read: One Word Has Elevated Minnesota’s Governor to the Democrats’ V.P. Wish List

The court watch: Term limits for Supreme Court are popular, but would require a constitutional amendment, experts say

The L.A. Times special: Long Beach looked like it had solved the local news crisis. Then reality set in

P.S.

Here’s Gov. Walz on The Recount starting the weird craze.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signs a ban on so-called conversion therapy in 2021. Walz said conversion therapy, the scientifically discredited practice of using therapy to “convert” LGBTQ+ people to heterosexuality or traditional gender expectations, is a “byzantine, tortuous practice.”

(Steve Karnowski / Associated Press)

Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here to get it in your inbox.