Vance waves off Trump fumbling his name: ‘I’m not worried about it at all’

Ohio Republican Senate candidate J.D. Vance on Monday brushed off former President Trump mixing up his name at a rally over the weekend, saying it was understandable Trump would sometimes misspeak on the campaign trail.

“He gives, what, thousands of words of speeches every single week,” Vance told CBS News. “Sometimes he’s going to misspeak. Everybody’s going to do that.”

Vance added Trump is hosting a tele-town hall in Ohio for his campaign on Monday evening.

“So I’m not worried about it at all,” Vance said.

Trump fumbled Vance’s name at a campaign rally for Nebraska Republican gubernatorial candidate Charles Herbster on Saturday. When the former president brought up the candidates he endorsed, he mixed up Vance and fellow Ohio GOP Senate candidate Josh Mandel.

“We’ve endorsed J.P. — right? J.D. Mandel, and he’s doing great. They’re all doing good,” Trump said. “And let’s see what happens.”

Mike Gibbons, who is also running in the GOP primary, pounced on Trump’s fumble in a statement released shortly after the rally.

“Even after his endorsement, JD Vance is clearly irrelevant to President Trump, so much so he botched Vance’s name at his rally today in Nebraska. Quite the ringing endorsement, eh?” Gibbons asked.

Ohio’s Republican Senate primary, which is taking place on Tuesday, had largely been a race for Trump’s backing until the former president announced last month he was endorsing Vance.

Vance’s opponents frequently bring up his past criticism of Trump during Trump’s 2016 presidential bid.

The former president has appeared to move past Vance’s past criticism publicly.

“Like some others, J.D. Vance may have said some not so great things about me in the past, but he gets it now, and I have seen that in spades,” Trump said in a statement after he endorsed him. “He is our best chance for victory in what could be a very tough race.”