Our top story is about J.D. Vance and a report about his efforts at quiet diplomacy. Beyond the details, it highlights a fundamental challenge to conducting politics in our hyper-connected age. We also look at the doing and future of Vice President Harris who just lost her Secret Service detail. I have a modest proposal for her future (is she or anyone around her a reader of Down the Hall—because that would be cool!)
Welcome to your Veeply Roundup
Given the Chance, can Vance do the Dance
JD Vance talks a lot. He is always giving speeches and interviews. Most of his utterances are not terribly newsworthy. He insists that Donald Trump, who is 79 and obviously out of shape, is a picture of health and vigor (the man does have a certain energy.) Vance also states that his 200 days in the White House have been the best on the job training and if something happens he’s ready. 200 days of OTJ is better than zero days, which is what most presidents have when they take office—but I kind of wish the VP had more than a mere two years in major political office.
Inside-Out on Ukraine
Last week we wrote on Vance keeping quiet during the White House meeting between Trump, European leaders, and Zelensky. According to The Guardian, there was some interesting fallout from the previous meeting in which Vance laid into Zelensky.
The most notable figure in Ukraine who could launch a political challenge to Zelensky is Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the former Ukrainian army chief and currently Kiev’s ambassador to London. Zelensky removed Zaluzhnyi from the army, but Zaluzhnyi has been credited with masterminding Ukraine’s initial military successes repelling the Russian invasion. He is well-known and popular in Ukraine.
The Trump administration overall, and Vance in particular, have been seeking an alternative to Zelensky who might be more malleable in negotiations. After the Vance-Zelensky Oval Office contretemps in March, Vance’s team tried to set up a call with Zaluzhnyi. The latter wouldn’t take the call.
According to the profile, Zaluzhnyi has been very careful not to criticize or undermine Zelensky; he is still a soldier at heart and his nation is at war. Zaluzhnyi may challenge Zelensky when elections become possible, but for the moment the good soldier will not play footsie with foreign powers seeking to undermine Ukraine’s president.
Vance’s Oval Office performance probably did not help their cause of advancing Zaluzhnyi as an alternative. There is a fundamental conflict between the inside game and the outside game. In the former, negotiations occur privately and when an agreement is made it is fait accompli. The outside game involves public criticism and confrontation, perhaps to pressure the adversary or to gain public support. The problem is that it is hard to do both. For some politicians, yelling at one another in public while dealing in private is just part of the game. It can happen. But this two-faced approach cannot always work. Open criticism and browbeating makes the private compromise more difficult. The criticism will make it harder to sell the compromise to your own camp. Further, berating the adversary may affect the adversary’s camp. Zelensky’s flagging popularity in Ukraine got a boost for standing up to Trump. If Zaluzhnyi were seen as conniving with Vance it would have been a disaster for Zaluzhnyi’s public standing in Ukraine.
Despite his 200 days of on the job training, Vance has a learning curve on conducting politics and diplomacy.
Kamala Harris needs security and a new gig
Trump ended former Vice President Kamala Harris’ Secret Service protection. On one level, this isn’t that big a deal. Under the law, the vice president is entitled to six months of Secret Service protection after leaving office. Biden extended Harris’ protection beyond the six months, but Trump has rescinded Biden’s order. This is well within Trump’s authority and the Secret Service is known to be over-extended providing protective services. Although Harris was the target of nasty vitriol on office, it does not appear that there are any particular threats to her (although we are seeing elected officials increasingly targeted.)
But Trump is also a petty and vindictive man. He has ended the Secret Service protection for a number of other public figures and highlighted taking away security clearances of former officials. All of these things are legal and properly under his authority—but do we really believe that personal pique played no role?
I’m personally conflicted about the security around the vice president. On the one hand, there have been serious assassination attempts on the VP. As I’ve written before, plots against the VP are often more carefully planned and purposeful than attempts on the president’s life, which are often carried out by disturbed individuals. But I’ve also been writing about the absurd lengths we go to protect our presidents and vice presidents. In general, I would propose abiding by the wisdom of Aristotle and steering towards the lesser evil. Since the protection afforded our top leaders is so over the top—we can reduce it somewhat. But we are living in crazy times, and perhaps this would not be prudent.
Harris is about to go on a book tour that will take her to 107 cities. Providing security for the tour would have been a major drain on Secret Service resources. Her hosts will provide some security for her. This isn’t just about selling books. Huge purchases of politicians’ books by PACs or other interested parties have become a standard way to make politicians wealthy. Harris is almost certainly testing the waters and laying the groundwork for a 2028 run.
I hope she doesn’t.
I’m a fan of Kamala Harris. But she had her moment. She got up to the plate and struck out, losing to the incredibly unpopular Donald Trump. Some other, almost any other, prominent Democrat probably could have beaten him. This wasn’t about her, so much as the timing. She was part of an administration associated with inflation, poor border security, and an aged, infirm president. It isn’t fair to her that things went down this way, but the Democratic party needs a fresh face and it does not appear that she is particularly popular.
Harris can live just fine as a former VP, sitting on profit and non-profit boards, giving speeches, maybe organizing a public policy institute.
By most accounts Harris is better at making policy than running for elections. So if she wants a challenging gig where she could have a huge impact—and not have to run for re-election—I propose President of Howard University.
The current Howard U. president is stepping down and they are looking for his successor. She is Howard’s most famous alum and would be a fundraising machine. It would raise the profile of the university and give her a forum to continue to speak out on issues. She could have an outsized impact on innumerable lives, HBCUs, and higher education overall. And if she wants a challenge, there are few greater in these times than running a major university.
Looking Ahead and Looking Back
This week we posted:
An analysis of how the nuclear age changed the vice presidency (quite a lot, it turned them from mere politicians to demigods)
For Throwback Thursday we posted the second part of a trilogy of posts on humanity and technology—original post focused on jobs, the updates considered how tech is changing society
Next week will feature:
An in-depth look at the South Sudanese vice presidents (they have about a half-dozen)
For Throwback Thursday we’ll finish up my trilogy on humanity and society—it’ll get a little philosophical
Friday will be the Veeply Roundup—besides Vance’s doings we’ll do a quick look at Deputy Prime Ministers, and whatever else comes up!