JD Vance’s mentor James Orr explains why his man is the future of Republicans

The other side of his life is the fiery world of a new kind of right-wing politics that combines traditionalism and concern for faith and family with viral media techniques – MAGA for millennials with a longer political horizon than Donald Trump at 78 or Kamala Harris at 60.

Dr. Orr acts as a bridge between the biggest names in the US and European supporters of a post-liberal world. He hosted libertarian Trump supporter Peter Thiel for a debate that led to a student protest petition to his faculty. It doesn’t seem to bother him.

Vance fears he will overshadow the great man

I went to Dr. for Politico’s Power Play podcast. Orr came to explore Mr. Vance’s appeal in Europe. What I discovered, however, was a movement that was very committed to ensuring that he has a close-knit network of transatlantic conservatives who believe in him no matter what happens in November. They want him to produce the right’s next generation of leadership and turn the tide against the economic and social liberal dominance that they say has eroded a sense of belonging. And it’s not just a one-time support group for “JD” — it’s a resiliency plan if the Trump train stalls.

It’s a recipe for the afterlife of the Trump phenomenon and, according to Dr. Orr maybe something more special.

“To have someone with that kind of perspective in the vice president’s office… We’ve never seen that in my lifetime, it’s somewhere between Reaganism and what I like to call Vanceism.”

None of this sounds like it would be a surprise for Mr. Vance to hear – it feels like a pretty coordinated message. No matter whether the Republican election fails or fails this time, Mr. Vance is sticking around and refining his own gospel.

Another strong supporter is Rod Dreher. I talk to him while he’s in Hungary (he’s a prolific American conservative commentator now living in Budapest, home of populist Hungarian leader Viktor Orban), and tell me he has the same hopes – but add this When he congratulated Mr. Vance via text message, the cautious response was that the Veep hopeful “didn’t want to overshadow the big man.”

Trump is rumored to have been partly shaken by Mr Vance’s penchant for seeking the spotlight.

Mr. Vance and Dr. Orr texts regularly: He calls his friend from Cambridge his “British Sherpa” and they even met for lunch in the Senate the day before Mr. Vance was nominated as Trump’s vice presidential running mate.

Dr. Orr is by turns charming and lively, with a mop of slicked-back blonde hair and the confident demeanor of his elite Winchester school (he was a student of Rishi Sunak, the now-ousted British Conservative prime minister). Dr. Orr met Mr. Vance after the publication of Hillybilly Elegy, the vice presidential candidate’s memoir about his childhood in rural Ohio that propelled him to the Senate and now the dizzying (and hardly risk-free) role as Trump’s running mate.