Hello everyone, it's a happy Tuesday. 97 days until the election and things are getting weird. JD Vance is weird.

No, I A false but obscene story Sofa groping and similarly suspicious Dolphin PornI'm talking about old fashioned, weird schoolyard jargon.

Amid the recent turmoil, Democrats switched their messageDonald Trump is no longer a would-be dictator. He's just a weird old guy.

As for JD, he's a strange young man.

But what's behind the language change? And will it work?

I asked former Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan. Democrat who lost to Vance in the 2022 Senate election — To help you understand, here is our conversation, lightly edited because it would be weird if it wasn't edited.

Will he or won't he?

Chhabria: Tim, you've been campaigning against JD Vance for a long time. Is he a weirdo?

Ryan: Oh, definitely. He's a weird guy. Maybe he's got trauma or something, but I think he's a very uncomfortable guy in his own body, very insecure. I don't want to play the bar stool psychologist, but I think he just wants to control the world outside of himself. He wants Caesar to come in and take over the country. Trump is his vehicle for stability through an authoritarian leader.

Chhabria: The shift towards weird and wacky language was started by (Minnesota governor and vice presidential candidate) Tim Walz, who said of Trump, “You've got weird people on the other side. They want to take the books away. They want to get in the exam room.”

Do you think that message resonates more with your Midwestern base? Why do you think it was so well received, as opposed to “a threat to democracy”?

Ryan: Well, it's not that scary. When you scare people and put them in that “oh shit” state, they go into fight or flight mode and their brain doesn't work the way it wants or needs to.

Nobody wants to be more scared than they are now. We're scared about the climate, we're scared about democracy, we're scared about the economy. So just trying to scare people has a limited ability to get their attention.

Whereas weird stuff comes in through a different entrance in your brain. Like, I think JD wears mascara. I've seen him and I'm like, “Hmm.”

But I've never said it publicly. [mascara]Right? I mean, I've seen my wife do it, but, you know, it's so weird that it makes you doubt yourself a little bit.

But I think weird stuff can easily get into your brain and be planted in your brain, which is kind of the reverse of how Trump does psychological manipulation on people, like little Marco. [Rubio]and low-energy Jeb [Bush].

[Note: The internet has been buzzing with speculation on whether Vance wears eyeliner.]

He planted the seed, and that's just the obvious truth, and Jeb Bush just got in there by being Jeb Bush, and little Marco just got in there by being little Marco with his platform shoes.

Now everything JD does is the same thing we were worried about with President Biden. Everything Biden is going to do is going to have to do with his age and the narrative that was already set about the debates. So it doesn't matter, he can give a great press conference, but He called Kamala Trump.And that was all that was going to be incorporated into the broader story.

So I think that's the situation that Trump and JD are in right now. Now JD is a weirdo in everyone's mind, so everything he does is going to be weird. Now everything they do seems weird, and the seed has been sown, so everything JD does is going to be weird.

As someone standing in Ohio looking at the current situation, this is a really good thing for the Democratic Party.

Will something odd change your vote?

Chhabria: Do you think this message could actually sway some voters?

Ryan: I think Trump and Vance are in a real bind.

Chhabria: They write about weird things, but there are some serious parts, right? I mean, they say some really extreme things. Do you think we should take that seriously?

Ryan: I think they will absolutely do what they say they will do. [Project] Even after 2025.

But I think the average voter, the so-called low-information voter, isn't going to vote on all of that. They're going to vote on who's cool and who's weird, or who has energy and positivity.

And I think we're moving into a more optimistic era, I think people are really ready, Biden, Trump, they're like two old guys.

But when a generational shift occurs and we have “happy warriors” versus “grumpy old men” and “grumpy young men,” [voters] I'm going to go with positive energy, there are good vibes there.

So I think it needs to be taken seriously, but it can't just be a doom and gloom message, because nobody wants to buy into that.

Rallying around optimism and positivity, [Democrats] I think weirdness is just a great gateway to building a great foundation, framing the problem in a nice way.

And if it's someone like Waltz, he can do that in a down-to-earth way, without being condescending or arrogant. He's a good guy. I served with him in Congress. He's an old friend. A good guy, a good human being, a smart, strategic Minnesotan.

I texted my friend and told him to play “Purple Rain” when he comes on. [at rallies].

Chhabria: Any final thoughts on JD?

Ryan: The last thing I want to say is JD is nowhere near prime time, he's just been forcing his way up here, but when the big lights come out, the bright lights come out, he's not ready yet.

And it's just hilarious to me that Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump convinced their father. That's great.

What else to read

Must Read: Why the Minnesota governor is on the Democratic vice presidential shortlist

Court Oversight: Supreme Court term limits are popular, but experts say constitutional amendment would be necessary

LA Times SpecialLong Beach seemed to have solved its local reporting crisis. Then reality set in.

P.S.

Governor Walz is talking about a recount and it's sparking a strange frenzy.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed a ban on so-called conversion therapy in 2021. Walz said conversion therapy, a scientifically discredited practice that uses therapy to “convert” LGBTQ+ people to heterosexuality and traditional gender expectations, is a “complicated and degrading practice.”

(Steve Karnowski/The Associated Press)

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