Given how impetuous Donald Trump is, his vice-president, JD Vance, strikes some Americans as a more stable alternative. A good bet, some of the Maga faithful believe, as the 2028 Republican nominee for president, and the eventual occupant of the Oval Office.

Every bit as rightwing as Trump but more serious and predictable – that seems to be Vance’s pitch to the public. And he clearly wants to be president; he’s as ambitious as they come.

Why, then, does he keep saying such loony things?

In recent weeks alone, the Catholic convert has suggested that Pope Leo – the head of the Catholic church, after all – should be careful when discussing theology.

Vance also has declared that the Watergate scandal and its cover-up were no big deal, and that it’s absurd that these (clearly corrupt) acts should have brought down President Nixon.

He even described as “troubling” the Vatican’s welcoming views on immigration. Vance went so far as to say such tolerance – echoed in lawn........

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