JD Vance now forces journalists to become part of his show at rallies

A dirty secret about Senator JD Vance that probably would not endear him to the MAGA faithful is that on Capitol Hill, Donald Trump’s running mate is friendly to reporters of all stripes.

Indeed, the bestselling author is more than comfortable talking to the press and frequently lets reporters ride the elevator with him on his way to votes. He’s also shown himself willing to go on the Sunday shows — most recently to defend Trump and his lie about pets being eaten by Haitian migrants.

But on the campaign trail as Trump’s top surrogate, the Ohio senator does something different. During his rally at Union Station in Raleigh, North Carolina, a crucial swing state, Vance dinged his boss’s opponent Kamala Harris for only doing two sitdown interviews since she became the Democratic nominee for president.

“After I give you some remarks here today, I'll take as many questions as we have time for because I happen to believe that if you want to be the American people's president, you ought not be afraid of a friendly American media,” he told supporters, to applause.

Typically, when a candidate takes questions, it’s in the form of a gaggle after the rally on the side of the stage or backstage. But instead of holding court with reporters after the rally, Vance makes journalists’ questions part of his events.

The point of this is two-fold: one, it allows for Vance to, as he said, show he is open and willing to talk to the press; and two, it enables him to show Trump supporters that he’s willing to joust with the horde that his boss has called the “fake news” or the “enemy of the people.”

Not surprisingly, Vance mixed it up when talking about immigration on Wednesday, specifically when it came to the lie that he spread about