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There’s evidence suggesting that the Democrats’ coordinated effort to label GOP vice presidential candidate Senator JD Vance as “weird” is impacting his favorability ratings. CNN polling analyst Harry Enten noted that an analysis of Google search trends showed a significant increase in interest in the term “weird” in recent weeks.
“They latch onto a message and they try to sell it, even if it’s fake,” Enten said.
According to Enten, Google searches for the word “weird” rose by 32% in the three days leading up to August 2, and by 22% over the preceding week. Additionally, searches pairing “weird” with terms like “JD Vance,” “MAGA,” and “GOP” also surged.
Enten pointed out that two polls showed a decline in Vance’s net support—13 percentage points in the AP-NORC poll and 15 percentage points in the ABC/Ipsos poll—compared to his mid-July standings. “So it seems like the attack lines against JD Vance are working, and one of those big attack lines, of course, is the idea that he is weird,” Enten explained.
He also noted that these numbers are particularly unfavorable for Vance compared to previous vice presidential picks like Sarah Palin.
In response to the “weird” campaign, Vance has fought back against his critics. “The people who call me weird want to give hormone therapies and sterilize 9-year-olds. A lot weirder than me just living a normal life with my kids and my wife,” Vance said on the “Full Send Podcast.” He added, “But this is what they do, I think, is they latch onto a message and they try to sell it, even if it’s fake.”
