On the Trail With Trump, Vance Shows He Knows His Place: Offstage, Mostly

Many in the crowd appeared on board with Mr. Trump’s choice of Mr. Vance. “I know Alex Jones at Infowars supports him,” said Dale Davis, 67, a part-time security guard from Portage, Mich. “If everything he says is for real, he’s awesome.”

The fact that Mr. Vance had previously railed about Mr. Trump as a toxic influence, calling him “cultural heroin,” was for some a plus. “I think with Vance originally not being a huge Trump supporter, it’s going to inspire a lot of Americans who also are not Trump supporters,” said Kaitlyn Lella, 30, a nurse from Grand Rapids.

Others speculated about what else he might bring to the ticket. “I think he’s a good balance,” said Laura Cole, 48, who lives in Grand Rapids and works in real estate. “You have Trump and then you have someone people can relate to. I think that’s important, to have a commoner who grew up poor, when obviously Trump didn’t.”

As for the last guy who had the job? After Mr. Pence certified Mr. Trump’s defeat on Jan. 6, 2021, the mob of pro-Trump rioters that attacked the U.S. Capitol chanted “Hang Mike Pence!” Mr. Trump’s chief of staff at that time, Mark Meadows, testified before the House committee investigating the attack that Mr. Trump had complained that his vice president was being whisked to safety, saying something to the effect of, Maybe Mr. Pence should be hanged.

Reminded of this, Mr. Trump’s supporters mused about what they expected of Mr. Pence’s successor.

“Mike Pence let down a lot of people,” said Chris Cruiser, 54, an anesthesiologist from Ada, Mich. “Your job as vice president is to be supportive of the president and what he needs.”