Eight years ago, leading up to the 2016 presidential election, J.D. Vance was a strong critic of Donald Trump. Publicly, he called the Republican presidential candidate an “idiot” and “reprehensible.” Privately, he compared Trump to Adolf Hitler.
However, by the time the former president chose Vance as his running mate on Monday, the Ohio native had become one of Trump’s most ardent defenders, standing by his side even when other high-profile Republicans did not.
James David Vance’s shift from a self-described “never Trumper” to a staunch loyalist is unusual within Trump’s inner circle. Democrats and some Republicans question whether Vance, who wrote the bestselling memoir “Hillbilly Elegy” and is now a U.S. senator from Ohio, is driven more by opportunism than ideology. Nonetheless, Trump and many of his advisers believe Vance’s transformation is genuine.
They argue that Vance’s political beliefs, which blend isolationism with economic populism, align with those of Trump and clash with the old guard of the Republican Party, where foreign policy hawks and free-market advocates still hold influence. Republican Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, whom Vance has described as a mentor, said Vance shifted his views on Trump because he saw the successes Trump brought to the country as president.
In particular, Vance’s vocal opposition to U.S. aid for Ukraine in its war with Russia has pleased Trump’s most conservative allies, even as it has upset some Senate colleagues. Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, a vocal Vance supporter, said Vance understands what Trump is running on and, unlike most of the Republican Party in Washington, agrees with it.
Born into an impoverished home in southern Ohio, Vance, 39, may help bolster the Trump campaign’s appeal in the Rust Belt in a race that will be decided by voters in key battleground states, including Pennsylvania and Michigan. However, his conservative views may alienate moderate voters. David Niven, an associate professor of politics at the University of Cincinnati, suggested that Vance’s rise from poverty to U.S. senator and vice-presidential candidate could help him recapture the voice of the American dream.
After serving in the Marine Corps, attending Yale Law School, and working as a venture capitalist in San Francisco, Vance gained national prominence with his 2016 book “Hillbilly Elegy,” which explored the socioeconomic issues of his hometown and explained Trump’s popularity among impoverished white Americans. He was highly critical of Trump, both publicly and privately, during the 2016 election and the early part of Trump’s presidency.
In 2016, Vance privately compared Trump to Adolf Hitler in a Facebook message to an associate. When this comment surfaced in 2022, a spokesperson did not dispute it but said it no longer represented Vance’s views. By the time Vance ran for Senate in 2022, his loyalty to Trump, including downplaying the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump’s supporters, earned him Trump’s endorsement, helping him win a competitive primary.
In media interviews, Vance has said there was no “Eureka” moment that changed his views on Trump. Rather, he gradually realized that his opposition was more about style than substance. He agreed with Trump’s views that free trade had harmed middle America by damaging domestic manufacturing and that the nation’s leaders were too quick to engage in foreign conflicts.
Vance declined to be interviewed for this article, and his spokesperson also declined to comment. Critics see his shift in views as a cynical ploy to rise in Republican politics. Niven described Vance’s actions as profound opportunism.
On the issue of abortion, Vance’s views have also evolved to align with Trump’s. In a 2021 interview, Vance implied that victims of rape and incest should carry pregnancies to term. In November, he called a vote by Ohioans to add the right to abortion care to the state’s constitution a “gut punch.” This year, he expressed support for access to the abortion pill mifepristone, a view Trump shares.
Before developing a relationship with Trump, Vance grew close to Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. Vance first caught Trump Jr.’s attention during the Ohio Senate primary in 2022 when he opposed aid to Ukraine, a position that differed from other Republicans in the race. Vance’s personal relationship with Trump developed mostly during the Republican presidential primary earlier this year. His early endorsement of Trump in January 2023 demonstrated significant loyalty.
In February 2023, Trump and Vance visited East Palestine, Ohio, the site of a toxic train derailment, raising Vance’s national profile. They criticized President Joe Biden’s decision not to visit the community at the time, portraying it as a betrayal of middle America. The White House noted that federal agents were on the scene immediately after the derailment and that presidential visits can disrupt local recovery efforts. Biden eventually visited East Palestine in February 2024.
Behind the scenes, Vance has helped convince wealthy donors to support Trump. For example, he helped organize a Bay Area fundraiser in June hosted by venture capitalists David Sacks and Chamath Palihapitiya.
Off the campaign trail, Vance’s brief tenure on Capitol Hill has pleased some of Trump’s prominent allies, including Donald Trump Jr., Carlson, and Steve Bannon. Their approval could help drive Republicans to the polls. Vance’s skepticism of corporate America, support for tariffs, weariness of foreign entanglements, and youth make him a leading voice of a new Republican Party focused on the working class, according to his supporters. Senator Barrasso believes Vance can articulate the pain American families are feeling better than almost anyone else.
However, Vance has been criticized for merely echoing Trump rather than presenting a new voice. Niven remarked, “Vance is an echo to Trump, not a new voice.”
