Vance: MAGA's millennial messenger for the midterms

DALLAS — Support for President Trump is dropping among millennials and Gen Zers — particularly young men. Vice President Vance is in charge of getting them back in the midterms.

Why it matters: The 42-year-old Vance, the first millennial VP, capped off the GOP's two-day convention here with a direct appeal to families with young children that emphasized the "birthright" of U.S. citizens.

• Vance also sought to cast Democrats as anti-American, anti-family "crazies."
• "America belongs to those who love it. Not those who hate it," he said.

Zoom in: Support for Republicans is slipping across all age brackets, but the disapproval among millennials and young men is an acute concern for Trump's political operation because they were crucial to his 2024 victory.

• Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, are the largest generation in America.
• They're also the cohort with the largest number of school-age kids — and particularly feel the bite of higher food and gas prices, driving forces behind Trump's low poll numbers.

In his 41-minute speech, Vance established his millennial bona fides by mentioning that he's now the father of four young children who share in the "birthright ... to inherit the blessings of the greatest country on Earth."

• Vance's speech fell on the one-year anniversary of the assassination of his friend and ally, MAGA activist Charlie Kirk, who was 31 when he was shot during an appearance at a Utah college.
• "Charlie spoke to young men in particular," Vance said. "He understood that there was no greater calling for a young man ... than falling in love, starting a family and becoming a father."

In contrast, Vance pointed to the now-deleted social media posts of a Michigan Democratic congressional candidate, William Lawrence, who once posted "fuck ... the nuclear family."

• Vance also attacked Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico and suggested he was too obsessed with transgender kids: "I never want to see that guy's web browser history."
• The vice president also took umbrage with Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed for suggesting that Vance's now-deceased grandfather wouldn't have loved the vice president's wife, Usha, because she is of Indian heritage.

In the midst of accusing the left of opposing the "birthright" of American children, Vance was interrupted by a demonstrator waving a Mexican flag in the American Airlines Arena.

• "Well, my friend, if you love Mexico so much, get your ass over there. I'll buy you the plane ticket," Vance said to the loudest cheers of the night for him.

Behind the scenes: Earlier in the day, Vance addressed a closed-door room of Republicans and emphasized the need to talk up the administration's record on lowering costs for prescription drugs — and to attack Democrats.

• "We have to remind the American people of all the good things that we're doing. And number two, we have to remind the American people of how effing crazy the Democrats have become over the past couple of years," Vance said.

Friction point: Vance obliquely touched on the major source of the administration's unpopularity — Trump's war in Iran and the high prices it's caused — and asked undecided and unsure voters to overlook it.

• "I'm asking you to do what Charlie did: Do not throw the baby out with the bathwater."

Meanwhile, oil prices rose this week to more than $100 a barrel, and diesel in some California gas stations is almost $10 a gallon.

• Mortgage rates are rising and the administration's efforts to stop the jumps have proven feckless so far.
• And on Thursday, Houthi rebels in Yemen were closing in on a strategic Red Sea port that could threaten more oil tankers and cause oil prices to skyrocket even more.

The other side: Democrats and other critics say the administration's policies, from cutting Medicaid to gutting other programs for kids, are anti-family.

The big picture: The Dallas convention was all about Trump, not Vance. And it was about the upcoming Nov. 3 elections — not the passing of a torch, which Trump is loath to talk about as he nears his final two years in the White House.

• Vance officially hasn't decided whether he'll run for president in 2028, but few insiders believe he won't.
• "The president will hand over the keys to JD on Inauguration Day, but it's not a topic of discussion," one Trump adviser said. "This about winning this November."

What's next: Vance and Trump plan to hit the campaign trail to support as many as 35 congressional candidates and a dozen Senate campaigns.

• "I'm going to go to every one of those states for congressmen and for senators," Trump said Wednesday night. "And we're going to have rallies just like this."

Between the lines: Vance is younger than any member of Trump's Cabinet, the freshest face in an administration led by the oldest person ever elected to the presidency — Trump, an 80-year-old Baby Boomer.

• "The dynamic you're seeing play out in the administration between the young millennial leader and the boomer is happening in corporate boardrooms across America," an administration political adviser said.
• "JD is uniquely qualified to talk to parents with young families. He's one of them, so this is only the start."