The chilling message Trump sent by choosing JD Vance

It’s a paradox of narcissism: The narcissist seeks only to elevate himself, but he must work with others, cajole them, and convince them of his greatness. Trump has long proven that he’s willing to make any deal to achieve this goal—that is, to balance his narcissism with his desire to win. When he needed to please evangelicals to have a chance at the presidency, he chose Mike Pence. When he needed to rally more ideological conservatives, he worked with the Heritage Foundation and approved a shortlist of Supreme Court nominees.

Yet when it came to choosing his running mate this year, Trump failed to follow any of his previous principles. Had he chosen Nikki Haley or Marco Rubio, he might have attracted more female or Latino voters, respectively, and both options would have appealed to voters looking for a younger, establishment Republican to moderate his antidemocratic tendencies and, if necessary, finish out his term.

Vance does none of these things. He comes from a state, Ohio, that Trump was going to win anyway. He offers Trump no advantage in terms of attracting voters who might somehow still be undecided or looking for an excuse to vote for Trump despite all his shortcomings. So why pick him? Trump was probably looking for two things: someone who would never challenge him, as Pence did, and someone who would never hog the limelight, making Trump look like a fool.