Donald Trump called in while Vance was supposed to be taking questions from voters and asked, “How brilliant is Donald J. Trump?”
“Sir, of course you’re very brilliant, and we both agree that it’s important to have very smart people running our government,” Vance replied.
For Trump, it was something of a moment of validation for the “sir” stories he has loved to tell for years. Trump frequently tells a “sir” story at his rallies. As CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale has cataloged, when he says the word ”sir,” it is usually a sign that he is about to lie.
A “sir” story traditionally contains a generous helping of Trump’s verbal flourishes, along with a cast of characters who are crying to Trump, praising him for an imagined accomplishment that allows them to pursue their great American dreams.
Something like:
A strong man, a powerful man, a big strong man—a rough man, very rough—he came up to me with tears in his eyes and he said, “Sir, we were very afraid of Barack Hussein Obama’s very powerful and strong—a lot of people are saying it—weather weapon, but, sir, you strongly and powerfully put up a beautiful wall and it protected us from the very nasty Democrats, thank you sir for giving us our country back, sir.”
Please note, this is not a verbatim quote from Trump, (though it is inspired by actual Trump quotes) but that’s how these tall tales usually work out.
By finally giving him what may be the first real “sir” story, Vance took a step further (or backward) in his transition from Trump naysayer to complete subordinate.
Vance once identified himself as “a never Trump guy” who “never liked him.” He said Trump’s policy proposals “range from immoral to absurd.” He described Trump as “America’s Hitler” and called his campaign “an exercise in pointing the finger at someone else.”
Vance said Trump failed to deliver on his promises once he took the presidency, and that the Republican leader was a “moral disaster.”
As Gov. Tim Walz pointed out during his debate with Vance, the reason Vance is on the ticket in this cycle with Trump is because Trump supporters threatened to hang former Vice President Mike Pence for the sin of denying Trump’s request to steal the 2020 election.
Now Vance makes excuses for Trump’s fascist impulses, pushes lies about migrants, and indulges in ridiculous election denialism. Vance has cemented his new role, moving from “never Trump guy” to real-life “sir” guy.
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