GOP donors were 'pulling for anyone' but Vance: report

The same United States senator who once called Donald Trump an "idiot" and compared the former president to Adolf Hitler, according to Reuters, was selected to be the MAGA leader's vice presidential running mate Monday.

Despite Senator J.D. Vance's (R-OH) criticism of Trump in 2016, the ex-president recognizes himself in the Ohio senator, National Review senior political correspondent Jim Geraghty writes in an op-ed published by The Washington Post.

Choosing Vance, Geraghty suggests, is a "declaration that if Trump wins, the Republican Party will remain fervently nationalist and populist for many years to come."

READ MORE: 'Risk-averse' GOP donors are 'trying to sabotage' J.D. Vance’s VP hopes: report

However, according to the conservative writer, if the vice presidential pick were up to Republican donors, Vance would have never been selected.

Geraghty writes, "The Republican donor class was pulling for anyone except Vance — no doubt alarmed by the senator who earlier this year told New York Times columnist Ross Douthat, 'The people on the left, I would say, whose politics I’m open to — it’s the Bernie Bros,' later adding, 'I’m not philosophically against raising taxes on anybody.'"

Geraghty also notes that in addition to calling Trump an idiot, the right-wing senator also "once called himself a 'Never Trump guy,' saying the former president "is unfit for our nation’s highest office."

The Daily Beast reported last week, "The very same coastal elites who once adored Vance have been trying to sabotage his vice presidential aspirations, according to three Republicans familiar with the veepstakes who spoke to" the news outlet.

READ MORE: Why JD Vance would be 'the most dangerous vice president': columnist

"Donors have really coalesced around [North Dakotas Governor Doug] Burgum and [US Senator Marco] Rubio (R-FL) at this point," a GOP strategist told the Beast. "Vance, on the other hand, 'hasn’t done anything meaningful' in the eyes of some of the more traditional Republican major donors."

They say, "He’s just gone on Fox."

Geraghty's full op-ed is available at this link (subscription required). The Daily Beast's report is here (subscription required).