JD Vance on Kamala’s talking style
2024-11-03 07:52:00 +07:00 by Mark Smith
JD Vance who is running as the vice president pick for the Republicans in the US elections, was on Rogan’s podcast a few days ago. Putting aside political party preferences for a second, I thought this observation was kind of spot on:
Vance: The only way I can describe it is that she talks in circles.
Rogan: Tim Dillon says it’s like she does gypsy curses. She speaks in gypsy curses.
Vance: [Big Lol] That’s very good. [...] There is actually a skill to this. I think that she is the Michael Jordan of using as many words as possible to say as little as possible. There’s actually a certain gift that she has because you listen to her talk, and you are 100 - 200 words into it, you’re 500 words into it, and you are like what the hell did she just say? She didn’t say anything.
So yeah there’s a certain political skill in saying a lot without actually saying anything. But it actually worries me about her being president [...] what does she do when she’s in a meeting with a world leader, and she has to know the details of public policy to negotiate with Vladimir Putin or Xi Jin Pin? [...] and I don’t know that she has an ounce of curiosity about public policy. That’s what scares the hell out of me.
It’s both a funny bit but also, it’s true! I’m not saying it’s necessarily a bad thing. I could certainly see her way of speaking be used to frustrate opponents and as a stalling tactic. But it’s worth noting because if it’s her only 'mode' then she might not be so great at getting things done. It’s worth listening to the whole bit as they do some impersonations which are kind of hilarious.
Of course Trump has his own unique way of talking, now being refered to as "the weave", which some would argue can be quite difficult to deal with, so perhaps it comes down to preference. One thing I will say about Trump, based on his recent appearance on Rogan, is that he’s willing to sit down for long unscripted interviews, and though his style does definitely get in the way sometimes, he seems to be aware of this, and I thought he does show curiosity and empathy in the people he talks with. He listens. He’s prepared to learn in public. At least there’s a chance of getting a message through to him. I’m not so sure about Kamala, could be her talking in circles thing makes her impenetrable.
It was an interesting interview with Vance. The two biggest things that stood out to me is that he’s very smart, knows his stuff, very well spoken on so many things, but he’s also clearly from a different generation to Trump. His dynamic with Rogan was totally different. Could be a great combo with Trump if they get on well. #