Andy Beshear’s Smear of J. D. Vance

In a scene-chewing audition for the Democratic Party’s vice-presidential nomination, Kentucky governor Andy Beshear appeared on CNN last night with the goal of unloading the entire trove of opposition research on J. D. Vance all at once. It did not go well for Beshear.

The governor unleashed a torrent of accusations against Vance at such a rapid-fire clip that each individual allegation probably washed over his audience. Beshear accused Vance of being a fake Kentuckian (the Bluegrass State is where Vance was born and where his family is rooted), of calling the culture from which he hails “lazy,” and of regarding women as little more than incubators designed solely to carry infants to term. Within this fusillade, however, Beshear included one especially scandalous allegation:

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

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In a scene-chewing audition for the Democratic Party’s vice-presidential nomination, Kentucky governor Andy Beshear appeared on CNN last night with the goal of unloading the entire trove of opposition research on J. D. Vance all at once. It did not go well for Beshear.

The governor unleashed a torrent of accusations against Vance at such a rapid-fire clip that each individual allegation probably washed over his audience. Beshear accused Vance of being a fake Kentuckian (the Bluegrass State is where Vance was born and where his family is rooted), of calling the culture from which he hails “lazy,” and of regarding women as little more than incubators designed solely to carry infants to term. Within this fusillade, however, Beshear included one especially scandalous allegation:

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.