WASHINGTON, Sep 11 (Alliance News): US Vice President JD Vance took center stage at the Republican convention in Dallas on Thursday, delivering a strongly nationalistic speech that is being viewed as an early test of his prospects for the 2028 presidential race.
With President Donald Trump constitutionally barred from seeking a third term, Republican leaders and grassroots activists are increasingly looking toward possible successors while the party faces uncertainty over the November midterm elections.
Trump, who followed Vance on stage for closing remarks, did not endorse his vice president for 2028. Instead, he urged supporters to turn out for Republicans in the November 3 elections.
Vance is widely regarded as one of the leading contenders for the Republican presidential nomination, alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
During his 40-minute speech, Vance appealed to Trump’s supporters with a message centred on national pride, security and prosperity.
“Don’t give the country over to a bunch of crazy people because you happen to disagree with us on a policy issue here and there,” Vance told the crowd.
Vance’s address was largely more disciplined than Trump’s free-wheeling speeches and at times resembled a presidential campaign speech.
A protester waving a Mexican flag interrupted the event, prompting Vance to tell him to leave for Mexico, drawing loud applause from the audience. Vance then offered to buy the protester a plane ticket.
Some supporters chanted “48, 48,” suggesting Vance could become the 48th US president in 2028, although the vice president stressed that Republicans should first focus on winning the November elections.
Republicans focus on future beyond Trump
Throughout the two-day convention, Republican speakers sought to energise voters by highlighting immigration, crime and cultural issues while repeatedly attacking Democrats.
Senator Ted Cruz of Texas accused Democrats, without providing substantiation, of being part of what he called a “new and dangerous red-green alliance” between communists and Islamists.
Vance also criticised conditions during former Democratic President Joe Biden’s 2021-2025 administration, arguing that many Americans felt their communities had become less safe and prosperous.
The convention placed comparatively less emphasis on issues that polls indicate are major concerns for voters, including inflation, the cost of living and the US war with Iran.
Kyndra Yamaguchi, a board member of the Tea Party faction in Montgomery County, Texas, said the gathering was helping energise Republican voters.
“It stirs the base, which I think it’s really needed right now, especially here in Texas,” she said.
Despite Vance’s prominent role, Trump remained the dominant figure throughout the convention. Oversized photographs of the president covered the 20,000-seat arena, including images from his 2024 campaign and an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
Vance’s rise and ‘Hillbilly Elegy’
Vance, 42, gained national prominence through his memoir Hillbilly Elegy, which chronicled his upbringing in a working-class community affected by industrial decline, poverty and addiction.
A Marine veteran and Yale Law School graduate, he later became a prominent figure in the Republican Party’s populist movement and emerged as one of Trump’s most prominent political allies.
Some Republican activists see Vance’s age and grassroots appeal as advantages as the party considers its future.
Trent Morgan, a 29-year-old Republican county party chair in Texas, said he viewed Vance as one of the party’s strongest communicators but opposed efforts by party leaders to decide the 2028 nominee before voters have their say.
“That’s the great thing about primaries, us as voters get to decide,” Morgan said.
Another Texas Republican, Robert Greeley, said he wanted Vance to take a stronger stance against individuals he believes are undermining the Trump administration.
Trump urges Republicans to turn out
Trump took the stage after Vance and initially promised to keep his remarks brief, saying he did not want to repeat material from his two-hour speech the previous night.
However, his 25-minute address soon returned to the style of his political rallies, with attacks on the news media and political opponents alongside a series of claims and grievances.
At one point, Trump asked the audience to repeat his declaration that he was “the greatest president in the history of the United States.”
He ended by urging Republicans to vote in November and warned supporters of severe consequences if they failed to turn out.
The convention marked the first Republican national gathering organised specifically for a midterm election, with no presidential or other candidates being formally nominated.
Instead, organisers used the two-night event to promote Trump’s record, energise the Republican base and support candidates ahead of the November midterms.
