Courtesy of Ralph Branson
From New York Times contributor and formerly registered Democrat to Republican senator of Ohio, and now Donald Trump’s running mate, who is JD Vance?
Vance has dipped his toes into many ventures throughout the years but is now garnering lots of attention as he took people by surprise when Trump chose him as his running mate for this year’s election.
Born James David Vance in Middletown, Ohio to Bev Vance and Donald Bowman, he grew up in America’s Rust Belt in a town riddled with poverty and unemployment. According to his website, Vance credits his grandmother, whom he called Mamaw, for being his saving grace. She allowed him to stay on the right track and enlist in the United States Marine Corps shortly after her passing. Following his service during the Iraq War, Vance returned to Ohio to complete a Bachelor of Arts in political science and philosophy before obtaining a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School.
Though he has many accolades to his name, Vance gained notoriety circa the 2016 election cycle after he published his highly acclaimed Hillbilly Elegy, a memoir written about his life in Ohio, mired in socioeconomic and emotional problems– like a tendency towards abuse and a dysfunctional family dynamic – he and his parents faced growing up in the Rust Belt. The book was later adapted into a movie in 2020 and received mixed reviews from critics. Some critics of the memoir argue that Vance writes the book with research not being a “priority,” and relies heavily on the stereotypes of Appalachian people being out of touch with the modern world to explain why so many people within that area cast their vote for Trump during the 2016 election.
What makes Vance’s political career so interesting is how he has risen to such a prestigious position in such a short amount of time. Vance’s political career only started about two years ago, when the incumbent Republican candidate for Ohio Senate, Rob Portman, decided he would not run for reelection in 2022.
His run for the Senate as a Republican comes in stark contrast to his earlier claims regarding his distaste for Trump. "I can't stomach Trump. I think that he's noxious and is leading the white working class to a very dark place,” Vance said in an interview with NPR in 2016. He was also cited as comparing Trump to Adolf Hitler and claiming that he was “unfit for our nation's highest office.” So, what made Vance want to run on Trump’s ticket this election?
Trump was strongly urged by his sons, Eric and Trump Jr, to choose Vance as his running mate against the judgment of other people in his inner circle. Although Doug Burgum, governor of North Dakota was originally Trump's top pick, Vance was awarded the position of Vice Presidential candidate for his loyalty to Trump, youthfulness, and his ability to reinforce Trump’s support in Midwestern states during the 2020 election.
Vance is well known for his inflammatory rhetoric that tends to spark controversy. Observing the 2020 election, gaining infamy for allegedly being tampered with in Joe Biden’s favor, Vance claimed that the election was not “free and fair” and that the Democrats’ goal was “throwing him off the ballot because Democrats feel they can't beat him at the ballot box, so they're trying to beat him in court."
Leading up to this election, Vance, along with Trump, has made headlines for making unusual accusations against a group of Haitian migrants with protected status in the city of Springfield, Ohio. Vance backed Trump’s claims during his debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, that these migrants were stealing people’s pets and eating them. Vance’s staff had also reached out to Springfield City Manager, Brian Peck, to verify if the claims made were true. Peck maintains that “There was no verifiable evidence or reports to show this was true. I told them these claims were baseless.”
JD Vance’s rise to political stardom in such a short amount of time is setting the tone for a new generation of younger and more outspoken politicians to begin becoming the rank and file of American politics for the future. As Congress remains older and America’s electorate becomes younger, Vance is a glimmer of hope that our executive offices in Washington become more representative of who’s showing up to the polls during elections.
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