A little more than three years ago, J.D. Vance was simply an author and conservative commentator. Now he has been selected as former President Donald Trump’s vice presidential candidate, a stunning political ascent for the 39-year-old from Middletown, Ohio.
His 2016 memoir Hillbilly Elegy launched him onto the national stage as many sought an explanation for Donald Trump’s rise. At the time, Vance himself was extremely critical of the incoming president, but as he ran for office in 2022, Vance has changed his thinking. Instead of “cultural heroin”, claimed that Trump was “the greatest president of my lifetime.”
Vance’s friendship with Trump helped him to secure the support of the former president in the U.S. Senate race and has been one of Trump’s most consistent defenders since taking office. On cable news and Sunday talk shows, the Yale Law graduate has shown a knack for smoothing over the piercing edges of Trump’s recent remarks without backing down from his positions. As the Trump campaign seeks to reach beyond its conservative base, Vance’s skills as a communicator and translator — presenting a more digestible version of the candidate’s message — could aid attract undecided voters.
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Still, there is much in Vance’s own message that could turn off some voters. As a candidate for the U.S. Senate, he leaned heavily toward anti-immigration rhetoricDuring the election campaign and during his term in office, he has strongly opposed the ongoing support for UkraineThat stance is especially notable given Ohio’s sizable Ukrainian community and Vance’s predecessor, U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, who co-founded and chaired the Senate’s Ukraine caucus. Critics say Vance’s statements about the war reflect rhetoric coming from the Kremlin.
On the other hand, Vance has signed several pieces of bipartisan legislation. In addition to co-sponsoring railway safety and unfair trade legislation with U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio, Vance backed a bill by U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, to recoup bonuses from failed bank executives, and a bill by U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat of Rhode Island, that eliminate lucrative tax exemption for larger mergers.
Vance also has praised FTC Chairwoman Lina Khan for taking a more critical view of business consolidation. This more aggressive approach earned Khan anger of time-honored allies of the Republican Party like the US Chamber of Commerce.
What does he bring to the ticket?
When a presidential candidate chooses a running mate, he or she often tries to address perceived shortcomings. The vice presidential pick might come from an vital state or region. Maybe he or she has powerful ties to a particular interest group or represents a wing of the party. Maybe he or she brings more experience in government to the table.
Paul Beck, a retired professor of political science at Ohio State University, said Vance’s appeal to the candidate is certainly not geographic.
“Well, I think one thing Vance doesn’t bring is the votes in Ohio that Trump would need,” Beck said. “He doesn’t need them.”
In 2016 and 2020, Trump won Ohio handily. In 2022, when Republicans nationwide fared poorly, Vance and every other state Republican candidate won their races in Ohio.
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Beck compared Vance to former Vice President Mike Pence, who helped bring evangelical Christians into the fold. Vance doesn’t have a similar affinity group to add, but Beck suggested he could aid solidify support among one of Trump’s strongest supporters — white, working-class voters. Vance speaks their language, Beck argued, when it comes to trade and offshoring.
“It may turn out to attract that group or at least solidify that group in Trump’s coalition,” Beck said, but he conceded: “I don’t think Trump necessarily needs someone who is going to appeal strongly to that particular part of his base. On the other hand, he doesn’t want someone on his list who I think would be opposed.”
Instead, Beck emphasized Vance’s ability to communicate. “He’s certainly become one of the most forceful and eloquent defenders of many conservative policies,” Beck argued. And as part of the ticket, he added, Vance could be an asset “to downplay some of Trump’s major Democratic criticisms and turn them around in a way that’s credible.”
Personal perspective
Dan Driscoll met Vance as part of a veterans group at Yale University and described him as a calming voice to a “scared, humble, insecure” first-year law student. In an interview, Driscoll said he was “thrilled that my friend, who I respect very much, and our country have an incredible leader.”
After graduating, Driscoll settled in North Carolina. In 2020, he ran for the Republican nomination for the congressional seat vacated by former Trump campaign chief Mark Meadows. He lost in a crowded primary to the eventual winner, former Rep. Madison Cawthorn.
Driscoll argued that Vance’s string of successes from book to film to venture capital — “for most people, any one of those would be an incredible lifetime achievement” — are no accident, describing the senator as “one of the hardest workers” he’s ever met.
Like Beck, he viewed Vance’s communication skills as a kind of “superpower,” but emphasized that they worked because Vance said what he believed.
“I think he just wants to make a difference for a certain group of people that have been, it seems, overlooked since the 1980s or 1990s,” Driscoll said.
He argued that Vance was skeptical of the elite political consensus on issues like trade because it had contributed to the devastation of working-class communities like Middletown, where he grew up. It was renowned part of Vance’s speech during his campaign for U.S. Senate. Driscoll cited examples of Vance working with some of the most liberal lawmakers in the Senate and argued that he would not have done so if they did not share concerns about the impact of policies on those communities.
“Even if what he’s saying doesn’t fit neatly into the left or right, if he believes it, he’ll say it,” Driscoll argued. “And I think a lot of people find that really compelling.”
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