J.D. Vance will introduce himself to voters with a primetime speech at the RNC

Transcript

SCOTT DETROW, HOST:

Tonight, U.S. Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio will accept the Republican Party's nomination to be its vice presidential nominee. He'll deliver a primetime speech, introducing himself to voters and sharing his vision for the country's future. NPR's Stephen Fowler joins us now for a preview of Vance's speech and what he brings to the ticket. Welcome, Stephen.

STEPHEN FOWLER, BYLINE: Hey there.

DETROW: So Trump named Vance as his pick on Monday. You have been speaking to Republicans in Milwaukee. How's he being received?

FOWLER: Well, Scott, it depends on what flavor of Republican you talk to. Among the many delegates and guests that NPR team here in Milwaukee has spoken to, Vance, who they view as the MAGA heir apparent, is great news. Here's Claire Corcoran, an Ohio county commissioner, just outside of Cincinnati.

CLAIRE CORCORAN: I think he cares about the people, and I firmly believe that he will be able to go behind President Trump, and he may be our next president after President Trump.

FOWLER: Well, there's also a segment of the Republican Party that's a little uneasy about Vance's isolationist foreign policy views, especially towards Ukraine. And there's people we've talked to on both sides of the aisle who say that Vance doesn't expand Trump's appeal, but rather deepens it.

DETROW: Let's talk about the speech. This is a moment that Vance will have to introduce himself to the country. What are we expecting to hear from him?

FOWLER: First and foremost, you should expect to hear about J.D. Vance's background and life story - things that he mentioned in the controversial and successful memoir, "Hillbilly Elegy" - things like his upbringing in Ohio, his time as a Marine, the observation of the decaying Rust Belt and losing manufacturing jobs and struggles with opioids and poverty and other things in the region - and expect him to tie it to American policies that he says caused it, like the North American Free Trade Agreement and other domestic and international economic policies.

Beyond the biographical, Scott, there's also the aspirational. I mean, as vice president and as someone who's about to turn 40, his take on Trump's vision of the world and of the future of the Republican Party is going to go a lot farther than the next four years. I mean, he's also a U.S. senator, so we've got a lot of things about his record and stances that we know about, and what he's going to highlight is going to be important to watch.

DETROW: Right, and that gets to the tone - a lot of focus on what the tone is, especially in the days after that attempted assassination of former President Trump. Vance has really leaned into the idea of being a culture warrior since he shifted to politics. Any sense how he will approach this speech?

FOWLER: Well, we're not really sure. I mean, Vance partially earned this nomination because of that fierce defense of Trump with Trump's criminal trials. He was there in New York. He's defended him in the Senate many times and online. I mean, in the aftermath of the assassination attempt, he tweeted that it was President Joe Biden's rhetoric that led to the attack...

DETROW: In the immediate aftermath - within hours.

FOWLER: ...In the immediate aftermath. And as a reminder, Trump has said that he has redone his speech to tone it down and focus more on unity and positivity. And other things that we've heard throughout the RNC, so far, have been similarly tame. But at the same time, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and others have leaned into attacks on Democrats and offered up red meat to the base, and that's part of Vance's role as vice president that otherwise could be expected to happen.

DETROW: So the theme of tonight at the convention is make America strong once again. How do the other speakers set Vance up tonight? Who else are we going to hear from?

FOWLER: Right. So the Republican Nation Convention programming has focused on these big themes about making America wealthy, safe and, as Republicans say now, strong again. There's policies that Republicans tout that they want to bring back and Democratic policies they attack. But who they have on stage speaks volumes too. I mean, we've seen party rising stars. We've had former presidential rivals come together behind Trump, delegates from diverse background speak. The big thing has been, quote, "everyday Americans" they've featured that reiterate key points Republicans want to make, like someone working two jobs to talk about inflation, a mom whose son die from a fentanyl overdose.

So tonight, before Vance speaks, there's a focus on the same type of domestic and foreign policy that Vance is expected to address. That includes the mayor of East Palestine, Ohio, where a train derailed; some Arizona residents talking about illegal immigration in the southern boarder; and several military veterans to help contrast the current Democratic policies on global conflicts. All of this, of course, Scott, will culminate with Trump's much-anticipated nomination acceptance speech tomorrow.

DETROW: That's NPR's Stephen Fowler at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. Thanks, Stephen.

FOWLER: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.