CNN’s Alyssa Farah Griffin Declares JD Vance ‘MAGA Heir Apparent’ After Debate: He’s ‘A Significantly More Eloquent Donald Trump’

CNN political commentator Alyssa Farah Griffin said that the vice presidential debate probably didn’t move the needle for the 2024 election, but it had made Sen. JD Vance (R-OH) the “MAGA heir apparent.”

Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) met in New York City for a debate moderated by CBS News anchors Norah O’Donnell and Margaret Brennan, sparring over issues like immigration, the 2020 election, and the records of their running mates, former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

“I don’t think it changes the race at all,” David Axelrod commented, calling the debate “an interesting night,” but not one that would change anything as the November election loomed ever closer.

“I was struck by the fact that JD Vance is a significantly more eloquent Donald Trump,” said Griffin. “Watching that — I don’t agree with JD Vance on quite a bit, but he speaks to MAGA in a way that he comes off as an incredibly effective communicator.”

She added that she would be “surprised” if Trump really doesn’t want to debate again, because Vance “did so well” so Trump would want to be the one to have “the closing argument.”

Vance was “a chameleon,” said Griffin. “There’s multiple sides to him. It’s one of his greatest political strengths. He showed up with a command of facts. There were some untrue things that he said –”

“Many!” Axelrod interjected.

“But he seemed — he tried to show the side of empathy with him, that I found myself believing it,” Griffin continued. “And then I remember his lies about Haitian kids, his comments about childless cat ladies, and his general record online is a mean spirited internet troll.”

“So long and short, I don’t know that this moves the needle,” Griffin concluded, “but I do think it solidifies his place as the MAGA heir apparent after Trump.”

Watch the clip above via CNN.