When I was young, my parents told me that only fools never change their minds. So I will not criticize J.D. Vance, Trump’s running mate, for changing his stance over the years.
Nevertheless, the transformation has been no less than spectacular. It could almost be compared to Paul’s enlightenment on the road to Damascus in the Bible. Vance has swung from one extreme to the other. From a Never Trumper, he has become the ultimate mouthpiece for Trump.
This makes me think that Vance, fundamentally, is not a true Trumpist, but merely an opportunist. Yes, he is probably center-right, but he wasn’t, at least until 2016, a Trumpist, far from it. To better understand him, we must know what led him to where he is today.
In 2016, at just 32 years old, James David Vance published his memoirs titled Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, a book that describes his childhood and adolescence in a working-class Appalachian family, plagued by poverty, drug addiction, and social upheaval. The book quickly became a bestseller, especially since it provided keys to understanding deep America in the context of Trump’s election.
Vance also served with the Marines, which, he says, gave him a sense of purpose, and he was a venture capitalist in California, notably working for Peter Thiel, a billionaire in the tech industry and ardent Trump supporter.
Vance was not an early fan of Trump. During Trump’s 2016 campaign, he called him an idiot, a cultural heroine, and wrote that he feared Trump would become America’s future Hitler. He even declared himself a Never Trumper.
In 2021, Vance announced his candidacy to become a senator from Ohio. From that moment, he publicly aligned himself with very conservative values and sought Donald Trump’s support for his campaign. He quickly understood that the Republican Party had become Trump’s party and that he had to kiss the godfathers’ ring to have any chance of being elected.
From what I can read, Vance is genuinely interested in political issues and cares about the fate of his fellow citizens – unlike Trump, I dare say. This means that just over three years ago, Vance was merely an author and conservative commentator: his rise from senator to potential vice president has been meteoric. His “conversion” too. From a Trump critic, he has become one of his staunchest defenders. He even criticized Mike Pence for refusing Trump’s request to overturn the electoral college results on the infamous January 6, 2021. Recently, he was one of the first to say that the Democrats’ belligerent rhetoric was to blame for the failed attack on Trump, which is paradoxical for someone who, in 2016, said he was worried that Trump would become America’s Hitler.
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Beyond his image as a blind Trump supporter, Vance appears to me more as an intellectual, given his academic successes (he graduated from Ohio State University and Yale Law School), his engagement in public debates, and his numerous writings in the media.
Trump seems to have chosen him for his conservative ideas, regularly expressed in right-wing media, but especially for his unwavering loyalty since he became active in politics. He also brings a youthful image and could become Trump’s successor in 2028. This way, Trump ensures that his political legacy will endure over time.
I hope that Vance, an intellectual, brings some common sense to a second Trump term. Whether one appreciates Vance’s positions or not, they generally have the merit of being studied and thought out. Trump will need this, given the chaos and hasty decisions that characterized his first presidency.
If Trump is elected, Vance can expect to regularly swallow his pride and accommodate his boss’s mood swings, antics, and impulsive decisions. Will he survive until 2028? It’s hard to say, given that most of Trump’s close circle has been burned over the years. Trump has loyalty to no one; only his personal triumph counts. Good luck, J.D., you’re going to need it.