Could Donald Trump remove JD Vance as his running mate?

The Trump campaign is making history with their vice presidential pick, and it is not for a reason they are likely to feel comfortable with.

Ohio Senator J.D. Vance, elected in 2022, is underwater with voters just a few weeks after being named Donald Trump’s running mate at the RNC convention in Wisconsin. Senator Vance is the first vice presidential pick in over four decades to have a negative approval rating just after being added to the ticket, and recent media appearances are only sending his favorability numbers lower and lower.

Donald Trump is hard on those who work for him, and he is not afraid to fire someone when he believes they are embarrassing him or taking up too much of the spotlight. The case of Vance’s current poll numbers checks both boxes, leading many to question whether a candidate can fire their VP pick and, if so, whether the Trump campaign would take such a dramatic step.

READ MORE: What did Dave Portnoy say about JD Vance? The Barstool owner rips on Trump’s VP’s ideas on taxes

How did we get here?

There was widespread speculation and reporting over who Donald Trump would ultimately pick as his running mate, with many with the GOP vying for the spot on the November ticket. Republican strategists, concerned with the former president’s approval among independent and moderate voters, encouraged the campaign to go with a more moderate candidate. The campaign rejected this idea, which was reportedly attacked veimentaly by Donald Trump’s sons, who encouraged their father to go with Vance. Now, with Biden off the Democratic ticket and momentum growing for Kamala Harris’ campaign, the choice by Republicans to run two far-right figures could cost them the election in November.

Additionally, recent missteps by Senator Vance and reporting outside his control are not helping the Republicans make their case to the voters. Thousands of memes were created after the Associated Press published a story debunking claims that Vance had written about having sexual relations with a couch in his best-selling memoir ‘Hillbilly Elegy.’ The report, which the agency has since taken down for failing to meet its editorial standards, set off a massive wave of online activity and, although false, began the process of unearthing strange examples from Vance’s past (and present). In February, he posted a screenshot of an article titled “Woman gets violated by a dolphin and enjoys it” with the words dolphin and woman bolded. On X, when a word is highlighted in that matter, it means that it formed part of a person’s search, leading some to speculate about what kind of content he might have been looking for.

At a policy level, Vance’s comments about the Democratic party being led by “childless cat ladies” have caused controversy among both Republicans and Democrats. These comments were made before Vance was elected to the Senate, allowing him some leeway to retract them. However, he chose to stand by his remarks and even suggested that people without children should be taxed at a higher rate than those with children. Many members of the party viewed this proposal negatively, sparking criticism from Dave Portnoy, the owner of Barstool Sports. Portnoy described the idea as moronic and questioned Vance’s loyalty to the party. As a result, infighting has occurred within the GOP, with Vance’s supporters attacking Portnoy’s lifestyle.

What do the rules say?

There do not appear to be RNC rules that would prohibit Donald Trump from naming a new VP pick, but doing so could be interpreted as a major sign of weakness. In an interview with Fox News that aired last Thursday, Donald Trump stood behind Vance, arguing that he had been doing well on the campaign trails. However, since making those comments, Senator Vance has continued to make comments that will turn off moderate voters.