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Former President Donald Trump's running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, cannot brush off his dismissal of democracy, longtime GOP strategist and focus grouper Sarah Longwell wrote on X Wednesday.

Vance was considered by political pundits to have debated more skillfully in at least the first half of the bout with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, but polling suggests debate viewers felt Walz won on several issues and even forced Vance to a draw on many conventionally GOP-favoring issues like immigration and the economy.

One of the biggest moments, however, was when Vance refused to answer whether he believed Trump lost the 2020 presidential election — and that cannot be overlooked, said Longwell, the founder of the anti-Trump Republican Accountability Project.

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"Last night’s debate had two features I like very much: substance and civility," wrote Longwell. "And yet, JD Vance told us he was totally cool with Trump’s refusal to abide by the 2020 election results."

"The more *normal* one sounds when saying insane things, the more alarmed we should be," warned Longwell.

Vance has continually refused to commit to accepting election results that go against Trump, and has made clear that if he were placed in former Vice President Mike Pence's shoes in 2020, he would have done as Trump demanded and illegally blocked the certification of the electoral count on January 6.

All of this comes at a time when the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee have shifted much of their resources away from conventional voter outreach and into poll watcher training and legal buildup, with the intent to contest any election results that don't go their way in 2024.

Last night’s debate had two features I like very much: substance and civility. And yet, JD Vance told us he was totally cool with Trump’s refusal to abide by the 2020 election results. The more *normal* one sounds when saying insane things, the more alarmed we should be.
— Sarah Longwell (@SarahLongwell25) October 2, 2024

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) revealed during the debate a surprising dislike considering his views on "sociopathic" childless cat people and the extra votes parents should be granted, a political analyst argued Wednesday morning.

Former President Donald Trump's running mate exposed Tuesday night a deep-rooted hatred of children, argued Salon columnist Amanda Marcotte.

"Vance sneered that climate change is 'weird science,'" Marcotte wrote. "With that simple answer, 'pro-baby' Vance showed he will wreak havoc on the futures of all children for his political ambitions."

This is just one of several examples Marcotte cites from the CBS News-hosted debate between Vance and Democratic vice presidential nominee Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN).

Vance's views on climate change, lies about Haitian immigrants eating pets, and attempts to soften his anti-abortion position represent a disregard for children that he would doom to deadly natural disasters, violent threats at school and more violence at home, Marcotte argued.

ALSO READ: Outrage as J.D. Vance tells rallygoers school shootings a 'fact of life'

"Research shows that when women are forced to carry pregnancies they don't want to term, they are more likely to stay in contact with men who abuse them and often their children," Marcotte wrote.

"And Vance has said he thinks women are obliged to stay with men who beat them, condemning women who leave violent marriages for shifting 'spouses like they change their underwear.'"

Marcotte argued that underneath Vance's professed "pro-baby" stance lies a deeply rooted desire to dominate women and a poorly concealed ambivalence about children's lives.

The columnist further admits this likely is not new information for voters who've read reports of podcast appearances during which Vance agreed childcare was the sole purpose of post-menopausal women and admitted he told his 7-year-old son to "shut the hell up."

But Marcotte argued it bore repeating.

"Vance made it very clear last night that children are only valuable to him if they can be used to derail women's futures," Marcotte concluded. "But when it comes to the futures of children themselves, Vance could not care less."

Former President Donald Trump's running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, managed to keep the debate much more competitive than Trump himself did in his own widely agreed loss to Vice President Kamala Harris earlier this year, winning style points from pundits even as he raised some eyebrows with his failure to commit to the democratic process, and as viewers gave Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz higher marks on many key issues.

But there's one surprising group of people who may have been disgusted with how Vance conducted himself, former GOP strategist Stuart Stevens wrote on X Wednesday morning: some of Trump's own supporters.

The principal reason for that, he explained, was that Vance spent too much time trying to talk about himself — as he did during the opening question about how he'd handle foreign policy crises like Iran's attack on Israel this week — and not enough time going after Vice President Kamala Harris.

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"Dive into hard core MAGA social media. A lot of them hated Vance’s debate," wrote Stevens. "They wanted Vance to expose Harris as the devil."

But instead of doing that, Stevens continued, "he was on a personal rehabilitation campaign aimed at 2028. He wanted to become the Great White Hope of the [New York Times columnist Ross Douthat] crowd and the wealthy donors who know which fork to pick up. Looking at Vance’s history, it should shock no one he put his own ambitions first."

Moreover, Stevens argued, the Ohio senator did little to endear himself to the center either, with a standout bad moment being his refusal to answer questions about January 6: "This is the only thing that will be remembered from this debate. Vance was like the boyfriend who is confronted by an angry dad who asks him if he assaulted his daughter and the guy answers 'I’m focused on the future.'"

"The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart tore into former President Donald Trump on Monday night and MAGA Republicans, who he said have created a "fictional character" — a "bizarro Trump" who's a "truth-teller" and whose accomplishments and character "bear little resemblance" to the actual Trump.

The comedian began his show jabbing the GOP over its attacks that Vice President Kamala Harris is lacking policy specifics.

"If there's one thing the American public demands it is a detailed," he begins, before displaying a poster of The Golden Bachelorette. "Oh, the Golden Bachelorette!"

After playing a clip of Harris sharing specific numbers in some of her policy plans, Stewart jabs the former president — Trump would not "trifle with America in that manner."

The comedian then played a clip of an interviewer asking Trump for his detailed plan of action on how he would bring down prices. Stewart then queued up a prop: a chart showing "policy specifics" over "time," and a sharpie at the ready. The clip then showed Trump launching into a tangential attack on his opponent, saying Harris could "never do this interview" and saying she talks about her lawn.

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A bewildered Stewart put his chart away — and brought out a second board showing "Huh?" over "time."

"I guess I had the wrong chart! The question, sir, was, 'How are you going to bring down inflation?' Your answer so far has been, 'Huh?'" Stewart mocks.

As the clip continued, Trump launches into an aside about China and Russia.

"Huh?" Stewart squeals, drawing out the word.

In another clip, Trump is asked to detail legislation he would pass to make child care more affordable.

Trump's response included mentions of Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and his daughter Ivanka Trump. But it included no specifics.

"Huh," jokes Stewart, before launching into Trump's response about how tariffs will pay for child care costs. "F-- it one more."

Stewart then plays a clip of former Hawaiian Rep. Tulsi Gabbard asking Trump about in vitro fertilization.

After saying "life is very tough," Trump said IVF can give people children who they would not have children.

"As you know we have no taxes on a thing called tips, you know that," said Trump.

Stewart gives up and breaks out a new chart showing "What the actual f--- are you talking about?" over "time."

Stewart later looked at what Trump supporters actually like about the former president, arguing it must not be his "clear, specific policies," as they "demand from Kamala Harris."

After playing multiple clips of Republican supporters praising Trump for, among other things, telling it like it is and being authentic, Stewart launches into a long attack on the former president.

Stweart said the country finds itself in a conundrum: the qualities and policies that people profess they admire about Trump "don't seem to be an accurate reflection of said former president."

"It's as if they've created a fictional character," he said. "A bizarro Trump, whose accomplishments and character bear little resemblance to the self-aggrandizing perpetual victim guy he continues to tell you explicitly that he is."

This "fictional Trump, who's portrayed as much better than he actually is, is running to be president of a country he paints as much worse than it actually is," says Stewart, joking that those who listen to Trump's speeches may walk away thinking families are being "murdered several times while making breakfast."

Watch the clip below or at this link.

Mary Trump, a clinical psychologist and niece of Donald Trump, told MSNBC Monday night that her uncle is a “destroyed human being” whose inflamed criticisms of Kamala Harris are being driven by a “defense mechanism” as a reaction to the vice president becoming the Democratic nominee.

“Donald uses very frequently a defense mechanism known as projection in which he takes things that he unconsciously knows about himself but can't bear and projects them onto other people,” Mary Trump told MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell Monday night on his show “Last Word."

“That has been happening with increasing frequency over the last – well let’s see when did that happen? Yes, when Vice President Harris became his opponent for the presidency," she said.

She said Harris replacing President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee “really made him unravel in a way we haven’t seen before,” adding that Harris is clearly “getting under his skin.”

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“She pushes his buttons in a way few people ever had,” Mary Trump said.

When asked by O’Donnell if her “crazy uncle” is what compelled her to become a clinical psychologist, she said “unfortunately he wasn’t the only one,” explaining that Donald Trump is one of five children “and every single one of them was and is a destroyed human being.”

“As shocking as it may seem, Donald was not the worst one in my family,” Mary Trump said.

She cautioned though that is only because “he has, unfortunately, power that continues to be bestowed on him by a bankrupt Republican party and tens of millions of Americans.”

“But the whole family system was so broken from the very beginning.”

In her tell-all memoir, “Who Could Ever Love You,” a New York Times bestseller, Mary Trump wrote that “nobody liked Donald when he was growing up, not even his parents,” adding that his father, Frank Trump, was “incapable of loving anybody.”

Watch the clip below or at this link.

A CNN commentator unloaded on a Republican former gubernatorial candidate on Monday night during a discussion on the upcoming vice presidential debate and former President Donald Trump's increasingly "dark" rhetoric.

CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins noted to her panel on "The Source" that the race between Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has been "really personal," and could set it apart from previous vice presidential debates, which are typically substantive. The segment came with the backdrop that Trump attacked Vice President Kamala Harris as “mentally impaired” and “disabled” during what he called over the weekend a "dark speech.”

Van Jones, a former Obama administration adviser agreed and emphasized the two are both veterans who have real differences in opinion and personality. He urged Walz to be careful and called Vance "p---ed" and looking for "redemption."

Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Long Island Republican who ran unsuccessfully for governor, told the panel he expects Vance to attack Walz over cultural issues and his response to civil unrest.

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Collins then played a clip of Trump telling supporters over the weekend that his Democratic opponent is “mentally impaired” and “disabled," as well as clips of Trump trying to tie exceedingly violent crimes to illegal immigrants.

"That's the kind of despicable stuff you're going to see from J.D. Vance," said Jones. "J.D. Vance has no integrity. No dignity. No morals. He changed his whole personality to fit in with Donald Trump."

Jones continued laying into the Republican senator, saying Vance lied to people in his own state for power.

"He has done nothing except write a phony book, suck up to people with big money on Wall Street, be a senator for a year-and-a-half — he is a despicable person and you're going to see the worst in American politics from this guy," said Jones. "He's a racist and he's horrible."

The attack stunned Zeldin, who was momentarily left speechless by the attack.

"Man, Van," Zeldin responded, looking around at the panel.

As Zeldin tried to defend Vance as a man of "integrity," Jones was having none of it.

"Cats and dogs? Cats and dogs? Black people eat cats and dogs? Black immigrants eat cats and dogs? That's integrity?" He fires back over Zeldin.

Zeldin tried to attack Walz over his factual recounting of his military record, insisting to Jones, "He's never served in military combat."

As Zeldin attacks Walz's grammar defense, Jones continues: "I'd rather have bad grammar than a bad soul."

"He is destroying Haitian's ability to go to school because he's a racist," an emphatic Jones said.

He later added: "You're a better man than to defend [Vance.]"

Watch the clip below or at this link.