JD Vance says the Republican Party is becoming pro-worker. But tonight, the RNC will feature a union buster

The ascension of JD Vance, first to the Senate and now asDonald Trump’s running mate, is a story that’s as much about what the Republican Party does not represent as it is a story about the GOP’s evolution.

Wednesday night at the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Milwaukeewas wholly oriented around Trump’s vice president. In Vance, Trump has chosed an economic populist as his partner — a strategic pick aimed at shoring up support in key areas of the Rust Belt, and other communities where manufacturing and energy are critical.

Vance, a one-term senator from Ohio, has been in the Senate for just a year and a half. In that time, he staked out his position as a clear outlier from the conservative mainstream with actions including an appearance on a United Autoworkers picket line and support for a railworkers union’s bargaining efforts over paid sick leave.

It’s clear that Donald Trump wants to capture some of that energy. Whether he can convince voters, while much of his party remains publicly skeptical of Vance’s positions, is another story.

If the final night’s programming at the RNC is any indication, that dispute is not going away any time soon. Thurday night’s primetime speaker list features, among others like Hulk Hogan and Trump himself, a famous union-buster: World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) co-founder Linda McMahon, with her husband.

A two-time losing Senate candidate in the 2010s, McMahon is a prime example of the GOP’s internal struggle over labor issues. She’s not just a Trump supporter, she served in his administration as head of the Small Business Administration.

In a second Trump term, she could be a key voice advising on issues of economic policy, and therein lies the problem for the populists.

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