JD Vance has a known history of rejecting Trump. He has said of Trump:

• I’m a never Trump guy
• Never liked him
• Terrible candidate
• Idiot if you voted for him
• Might be America’s Hitler
• Might be a cynical Asshole
• Cultural Heroine
• Obnoxious
• Reprehensible

The spin is obviously that if Trump can win over someone like Vance, you should vote for him too. But there is a deeper narrative. One of the peculiarities of the social media era is the rise of catfishing such as when someone overseas invents a romantic profile to get unsuspecting lonely singles to send them money. Relevant for this discussion, the catfisher will often present absurd information up front because the reasoning is that if the mark will overlook that, they will overlook anything and be easy to get the money from. Sound familiar?