The trend over at least the last decade has been for liberals to demonize conservatives on a personal level even before getting to policies.I think a lot of media was trying to make Vance seem like this diabolic right-wing extremist. His responses were more thoughtful and well-articulated than even I was expecting.
We have a problem in U.S. politics now and perhaps you will have it in Canada next year. It's not enough to challenge the ideas of someone you disagree with. You have to demonize and excoriate them. I do think Trump brings a lot of this on himself. Vance to me always seemed to be a decent guy with some interesting but perhaps raw viewpoints. I don't even agree with Vance on everything.