trump doesn't have any true policies and he benefits from that. he believes in 2 things (racism and tariffs) and improvises the rest, which means voters can basically pretend he believes anything. this does not filter down to Vance or whoever because they *do* have policies and bad ones at that!
Yeah totally, Trump is more of a Rorschach test, he’s so unreliable and flaky that people believe whatever they want about him. Vance is definitely an ideologue and his potential ability to communicate clearly could make him easier for voters to pin down.
vance is *also* an ideological chameleon, though. he went from opposing from in the first term to... whatever he is now. though, he's definitely become slightly brain poisoned enough to believe at least some portion of what he says. and the Thiel money helps.