Biden Calls J.D. Vance a Trump ‘Clone’ as Democrats Label Him an Extremist

Democrats seized on former President Donald J. Trump’s selection of Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio as his running mate on Monday, calling Mr. Vance an extremist whose views on abortion, tax cuts and the results of the 2020 election would repel many Americans.

Mr. Vance, 39, entered the Senate only last year and has closely allied himself with the MAGA movement after attacking Mr. Trump during the 2016 election.

Before boarding Air Force One on Monday for campaign events in Las Vegas, President Biden told reporters that Mr. Vance was “a clone of Trump on the issues” and said he did not “see any difference” between them.

Mr. Biden’s campaign chair, Jen O’Malley Dillon, said on a call with the news media that Mr. Vance would “bend over backwards to enable Trump and his extreme MAGA agenda, even if it means breaking the law.” Among other issues, she called out his false statements that the 2020 election had been stolen.

Jaime Harrison, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said in a statement that Mr. Vance had “championed and enabled Trump’s worst policies for years — from a national abortion ban, to whitewashing Jan. 6, to railing against Social Security and Medicare.”

Ever since the debate, Democrats have been looking for an opportunity to move the spotlight away from concerns about Mr. Biden’s age and back to Mr. Trump’s policies and his temperament. The long-awaited announcement of a G.O.P. vice-presidential candidate gave them the chance to do exactly that, imparting a jolt of energy into a Biden campaign that has been fighting for its survival. It also gave Democrats a chance to ridicule Mr. Trump, at least indirectly, at a time when the attempt on his life has forced them to slow down their attacks.