JD Vance is *already* having a very bad week 👎

The easiest way to win in media today is simple: pick a side and tell your audience what it wants to hear. 🔥

But that’s not journalism.

I’m here to call balls and strikes — no matter who’s at the plate. ⚾

That means analysis you won’t get from the partisan echo chambers: clear-eyed, fact-based, and independent.

If you want that kind of coverage in your inbox, you need to subscribe.

Because without subscribers, there are no referees. 🧭

---

It’s only Wednesday but it’s already been a rough few days for Vice President JD Vance.

Consider:

• Vance traveled to Hungary to campaign (for two days!) for President Viktor Orban — just days before Orban and his party lost in a rout.

• Vance flew to Pakistan to try to secure a peace deal with Iran. After a 21-hour negotiation — seems terrible! — Vance had to hold a press conference to admit he had failed and no deal was at hand.

• Vance, a converted Catholic who has a book coming out in June about that very conversion, watched as Donald Trump picked a fight with Pope Leo, who he insisted is “WEAK on crime. (Sidebar: WHAT?)

• At a Turning Point USA event at the University of Georgia on Tuesday, Vance was heckled by protesters — even as footage leaked online that appeared to show the arena not even close to full.

  

  Jake Traylor@jake__traylor

  Turning Point USA seems to have misestimated crowd size for Vance. Akins Ford Arena less than 25% filled for the vice president.

  10:09 PM · Apr 14, 2026 · 5.84M Views

  ---

  2.39K Replies · 6.88K Reposts · 35.2K Likes

For Vance, this week has been the continuation of a rough patch for his still-in-waiting 2028 presidential candidacy. Vance has clearly been passed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio in the affections of the president and has had to defend the Iran war — a policy which all of his past statements suggest he must oppose.

My friend Matt Lewis and I led off our weekly conversation — we do it every Wednesday! —by talking about Vance’s terrible week.

We also touched on:

• The debate over Trump’s mental health 🧠⚠️

• My piece on not voting 🗳️🤔

• How pro wrestling acts as the leading edge of our modern politics 🤼‍♂️🏛️🔥

• The best “Rocky” movies 🥊🎬🏆

• Decency in American politics 🇺🇸🤝✨

This post is FREE. But independent journalism isn’t! I hope you consider investing in what I am building here. It’s $6 a month or $60 for the whole year. (Or consider becoming a Founding Member to get MUCH more direct access to me!) You can read about subscriptions — and what you get with them — here.