I kind of agreed with everything you said before this. But I think the conservative media would slob his knob, or Vivek's, or Noem's, or anybody's, and it would work. They are spoon feeding whatever they want to half the country. They convinced people that being an intellectual is a bad thing, that Fauci is a monster, etc. They can sell absolutely anything and anyone to that horde.
Hell, Joe Rogan and others have helped this party of crusty old white men somehow connect better with young people. Even Latinos got on board. The right completely controls the flow of information to half the country, to the point that they think anything contrary is a lie or a plot. They can make JD Vance, or anyone else, a star. If Joe Rogan decides that Vance is awesome, then he is.
And all of this will be compounded by the upcoming liberal exodus from this country.
I see nothing that points to anything but a very long run of power for them.
I want to be wrong. But this is a perfect storm for them. Trump is a symptom, not the disease.