“Their interest is diametrically opposed to yours, though they will always try to maintain the contrary and to make you believe in their most hearty sympathy with your fates” 

—The Condition of the Working Class in England, Friedrich Engels (1845).

Donald Trump won the 2016 election with a surprise victory in the Midwest. Trump flipped the Democratic “blue wall” of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa. All of these states voted for Barack Obama in the 2012 election. “Make America Great Again” effectively persuaded the industrial heartland of the United States and the millions of unionized workers that live there. Trump promised to halt the exodus of American jobs to overseas factories. So, in 2016, midwesterners then cast their votes for the rogue New York billionaire who had shaked the GOP, unafraid to use his abrasiveness and populist rhetoric to further rock the White House and the world. 

Americans were rewarded with a moderate tax cut across the board colloquially known as the “Trump Tax Cuts.” Trump implemented tariffs on China, attempting to live up to his word to protect American industries. Despite ultimately causing harm to the US consumer, this policy was popular enough that President Biden is continuing the trend of tariffs on China. Trump also ran with a hard stance on immigration, but proved to be more lenient than Obama on the issue of illegal immigrants. Obama deported an average of 1.38% of the immigrant population annually while Trump deported just .83%. Ultimately, the most significant failure of the Trump administration was in 2020 when the nation’s halfhearted lockdown simultaneously killed economic growth and over 350,000 Americans. In March of 2020, the Trump administration and Federal Reserve both started throwing money at the virus. The CARES Act constituted a $2 trillion infusion on top of slashed interest rates and an additional $700 billion of quantitative easing that went straight to the banks. 

The shadow of this gargantuan spending loomed over the Biden administration. “Build Back Better” was the call that optimistically promised something beyond a “return to normalcy,” but inflation hit consumer prices hard, and real disposable income shrank, a crippling combination for millions of Americans who had hoped for better coming out of the lockdowns. The Biden administration did restore millions of jobs lost during the pandemic and invested in American infrastructure, but this was just a return to normalcy. What was abnormal was that under the Biden administration U.S. global hegemony began to slip. In February of 2021 America’s long time rival, Russia, invaded Ukraine. In August of 2021, Biden’s withdrawal from Afghanistan proved that 20 years of occupation was for nothing as the Taliban swiftly retook power. After Hamas’s attack on October 7th 2023, the Biden administration has been unwilling and unable to end the bloodshed in Gaza. These international troubles have sparked protests and criticism of Biden’s presidency. 

This is the context for voters who must make a decision in November. The election of 2024 will be historic and yet all too familiar. New York billionaire or Californian career politician? Coastal elites yet again contending for the affection of Middle America. The strategy therefore was to pick running mates from Middle America: J.D. Vance, the Senator from Ohio as Trump’s VP, and Tim Walz, the Governor of Minnesota as Harris’ VP. Since relatively few Americans can relate to our coastal elites, the question of the day is who are the men they chose to represent us as vice president and how do they compare? 

J.D. Vance comes from humble and tough beginnings in Middletown, Ohio. He was raised by his grandparents because of his mother’s struggle with addiction. Vance writes of his grandparents that, “without question or qualification, [they are] the best things that ever happened to me.” In Middletown, steel was the lifeblood of the city, but proved temporary, and left the people of Middletown destitute victims of international capitalism. Another community of honest industrial workers punished for their loyalty and forgotten by those who would rather make money abroad than build communities at home. J.D. Vance joined the U.S. Marine Corp in 2003 and deployed to Iraq as a wartime journalist. Afterwards, he got his bachelor’s degree from Ohio State, and then went to Yale Law School on a generous scholarship for low-income students. His upbringing until that point had been earnest and all-American. Was J.D. Vance destined to become a representative of the working class? 

After law school, J.D. Vance began working for Mithril Capital, a “venture capital” firm in Silicon Valley run by multi-billionaire Peter Thiel; and so another hopeful hero of the working class was seduced by capital. Mithril Capital has been accused of “financial misconduct” for illegally funneling millions of investors dollars into their pockets. Peter Thiel is yet another modern robber baron and despicable disciple of mammon, and has donated $15 million to J.D. Vance’s political career. Knowing that J.D. Vance was trained to heel by said man, it follows that J.D. Vance, a former “never Trump guy,” would again bend the knee and lose his convictions to win the VP nomination for Trump. 

J.D. Vance’s shameless betrayal has prompted reasonable critique of his 2016 memoir Hillbilly Elegy that “uses a wide brush to paint Appalachians as lazy, ignorant, and unwilling to try at life.” As Trump’s VP pick, Vance now blames the problems of Appalachia and the Midwest on immigrants. He has chosen his side of history and it is up to Middle America if they are convinced by this gunny sack sellout. 

On the blue team is Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota. He was born in West Point, Nebraska, geographically in the exact middle of America. Tim Walz enlisted in the Army National Guard at the age of 17. He then graduated from Chadron State College, and later became a public school teacher. Tim Walz never went to a prestigious school like Yale, and he wasn’t interested in “venture capitalist” schemes. Instead, he worked as a geography teacher and football coach, and interestingly, often took his classes on school trips to China. Tim Walz moved to Minnesota in 1996 and taught at Mankato West High School. In 2006, he won his election to become a House Representative for the state of Minnesota. In 2008, Walz broke from his own party and voted against the bipartisan TARP bill that fed banks an unconditional $700 billion and left millions of citizens to face foreclosure. The TARP bill started the policy of quantitative easing which was again used in 2020. As governor, Waltz led the state through difficult times like the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement, inciting the people of Minnesota to elect him once more. He introduced and defended a child tax credit, free state college tuition for low income families, abortion access, public school meals, gender-affirming care, paid leave, affordable housing, clean energy, and voting rights for former felons. He has the persona of a “midwestern dad” and maintains a strong Democratic platform for Minnesota. 

Tim Walz’s leadership was put into question when, during the pandemic, Minnesota’s “Feeding our Future” program that was intended to provide free school meals was revealed to have $250 million in federal funds stolen from the program. Although there is no evidence implicating Walz in this bureaucratic theft, it remains the most glaring mistake of his career. 

Both politicians brought with them their brand of Middle America into October 1st’s meeting, but how did the public view the debate between J.D. Vance and Tim Walz? Fortunately for the American people, both men were focused on actual policy and remained civil throughout. Polls vary on who “won” the debate while most indicate that Vance was the better speaker, and did a fine job running “damage control” for his running mate. However, what is most important is that both parties were seriously trying to appeal to Americans. Condensed below are snap quotes of the populist rhetoric from both men:  

“I know a lot of you are struggling. I know a lot of you are worried about paying the bills. It’s going to stop when Donald Trump brings back common sense to this country.” – Vance

“And I have to tell you that, that better than it is is the sense of optimism that there can be an opportunity economy that works for everyone, not just to get by, but to get ahead.” – Walz

These snippets demonstrate how J.D. Vance is bogged down trying to support his New York coast elite. Politically, this is a solid strategy, especially since Trump is still popular in much of the nation and is the head of the ticket. Nevertheless it shows that this Midwestern man has fallen into the clutches of capital. He has bent the knee and is busy polishing Trump’s image and preparing his throne. 

At the same time, Tim Walz’s showing was weaker as if he were out of his element, which is a good thing in my book. I don’t want a politician that is a master showman. I don’t want a politician in office who can get groomed to be palatable and say all the right things. I don’t want a fickle turncoat of a man that the ancient bureaucrats on high can fill with their peachy sick slogans. Our leaders should be true to themselves and their people, those that may not be the best salesmen, but who are righteous and incorruptible. 

Understanding Trump’s victory in 2016 is understanding that to many people Trump was a clunky speaker that said what he believed and seemed incorruptible: self-made and true. He wasn’t a career politician like the other well groomed GOP nominees, and he promised Americans that he would drain the swamp. 

The nation and the world waits anxiously for the results this November. For now, it is exciting to watch politicians fight to rally favor from Middle America, even knowing that they will surely forget us come election day. I do have hope that Tim Walz will be an honest representative of the American working class. If he isn’t then nothing will have changed.