NC Democrats slam Republican VP pick: Vance will do ‘whatever President Trump wants’

North Carolina Democrats on Tuesday said former President’s Donald Trump’s new running mate has extreme views and won’t stand up to the Republican nominee.

Trump selected Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance as his vice presidential nominee Monday as the GOP gathered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for the Republican National Convention. A first-term senator, Vance is best known as the author of the bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy,” which detailed his upbringing in Ohio and Kentucky.

At a Tuesday press conference in Charlotte, North Carolina Democratic Party Chairwoman Anderson Clayton said Vance “has endorsed every extreme platform policy” of Trump’s and noted Vance is in favor of abortion bans that don’t make exceptions for cases of rape or incest.”

“It doesn’t change the stakes. It only makes them higher,” she said of the impact of Trump’s choice on the election.

Michael Tucker, a former Mecklenburg GOP board member who left the party over Trump, said at Tuesday’s event he’s concerned Vance’s youth and inexperience means he “will basically do whatever President Trump wants him to do.”

“That’s concerning to me,” he said.

Tucker, who plans to vote for President Joe Biden, said the presence of then-Vice President Mike Pence and other cabinet members he felt would stand up to Trump comforted him during Trump’s first term in office by. Now, he feels like the former president is looking for a yes man.

“It’s a shame to me,” he said of Vance being on the ticket.

In Milwaukee, Trump’s choice played better with North Carolina Republicans.

State Rep. Jarrod Lowery, an alternate delegate at the convention, praised Vance for his military service in the U.S. Marine Corps.

“I think he’s very open and candid about what he learned in the Marine Corps, because that has given him some leadership skills. So I’m very excited to have a United States Marine to have the possibility of being Vice President,” Lowery told McClatchy.

Tucker and other speakers at the Biden campaign’s Charlotte event, including U.S. Alma Adams and state Rep. Diamond Staton-Williams, said they’re particularly concerned about Project 2025. The “Project 2025 Presidential Transition Plan” was developed by the conservative Heritage Foundation think tank and calls for an overhaul of the executive branch.

Is Biden campaign gaining ground in NC?

It’s unclear how Trump’s vice presidential pick will play with North Carolina voters, but Trump has maintained a consistent lead in North Carolina.

Clayton said the state party is committed to its plan to focus on voter outreach, including going door-to-door to talk to residents and encouraging voter registration.

“We’re making sure that we are having folks out every single weekend,” she said.

In addition to Tuesday’s event, Vice President Kamala Harris will return to the state Thursday, the same day Trump is expected to give his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. It’s her second visit in as many weeks and one of many stops by her and Biden in North Carolina.

Democrats have invested more than $1.2 million in the state so far this election cycle, the Democratic National Committee said in a statement Tuesday.

Adams: Bipartisan consensus in Congress around action on Trump shooting

Tuesday’s speakers in Charlotte also called out political violence and urged more civility after an assassination attempt Saturday that wounded Trump and two spectators and killed an audience member at a Pennsylvania rally.

“We must address political disagreements with our votes, and not with violence,” Adams said.

Asked whether Congress should investigate the shooting and consider legislation to mandate more security for presidential candidates, Adams said she agrees “we need to find out what happened (and) why it happened so it doesn’t happen again.”

“Everybody should be concerned about what happened. I certainly am … A former president could have almost lost his life. You certainly have to have some compassion,” she said.

Reporter Danielle Battaglia contributed to this story.