A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Ohio Senator J.D. Vance returned to his hometown yesterday for the first time as Donald Trump's vice presidential nominee. NPR's Stephen Fowler takes a look at Vance's homecoming and how his upbringing is shaping his campaign.
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STEPHEN FOWLER, BYLINE: If you had the opportunity to go back to high school, chances are you wouldn't. But then again, you're not J.D. Vance and you probably wouldn't be greeted like this.
J D VANCE: It is good to be here. Thank you, guys. God bless you.
(CHEERING)
FOWLER: It's been 21 years since Vance graduated from Middletown High School, and this homecoming is special. Vance says how he was raised in southwest Ohio has given him an opportunity that has led to this run for vice president.
VANCE: My life wasn't all that different from a lot of people who grew up in Middletown, Ohio. It was tough, but it was surrounded by loving people. And it was surrounded by something that if we don't fight is not going to be around for the next generation of kids, and that's opportunity. Middletown had opportunity.
FOWLER: Vance rose to fame with his controversial memoir "Hillbilly Elegy" that spun a tale of addiction, poverty and decline that hollowed out the Rust Belt. Now he wants to speak directly to those people and bring their stories and perspectives with him on the campaign trail. His speech ranged from wonky...
VANCE: 1994, this country gave a sweetheart trade deal to Mexico that sent hundreds of thousands of good manufacturing jobs, many of them in our communities, to Mexico.
FOWLER: ...To aspirational...
VANCE: Work hard and play by the rules, you get a good life. It's that simple.
FOWLER: ...And included some lines that, well, fell flat in the crowd.
VANCE: It is the weirdest thing to me. Democrats say that it is racist to believe - well, they say it's racist to do anything.
(LAUGHTER)
VANCE: I had a Diet Mountain Dew yesterday and one today. I'm sure they're going to call that racist, too.
FOWLER: As a relative newcomer to the political stage, Vance hasn't yet found his footing in front of a rally crowd. Still, Vance was selected to be Trump's running mate as part of a campaign strategy designed to defeat President Joe Biden, which seemed to be working. Biden quitting the race on Sunday has put added pressure on the freshman senator to pivot his message to attack likely Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris instead.
VANCE: If you want to lead this country, you should feel grateful for it. You should feel a sense of gratitude. And I never hear that gratitude come through when I listen to Kamala Harris.
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FOWLER: Despite being a favored son of Ohio and one of its senators, he's also got to introduce himself to Republican voters, too, like Paul Zulock (ph) from nearby Fairfield Township, who showed up to learn more about Vance's views.
PAUL ZULOCK: What little bit I've seen on TV and stuff. I mean, my family's been around here forever. You know, I was born and raised in Middletown. My niece went to school with him. She says he's a pretty nice guy and all, so I think he might be all right.
FOWLER: In a presidential race that until now was marked by two older, well-known entities, Vance's relative youth and energy has been noticeably on display. Hours after leaving the first rally, Vance went to Virginia Monday night and adapted his stump speech with more forceful attacks on Harris and Biden, a more streamlined version of his populace vision and no jokes about Mountain Dew.
Stephen Fowler, NPR News, Middletown, Ohio. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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