The life and times of the 2024 Republican vice presidential candidate.
Most people know JD Vance as Donald Trump’s running mate in the 2024 presidential election, along with his opinions on things like “Child-less cat ladies,” his claim that the Biden administration only wanted to fight Putin because he “didn’t believe in transgender rights” and calling pregnancy from rape an “inconvenience.”
Others know him as an Ohio Senator, a venture capitalist, a NY Times best-selling author and a marine corporal, but there’s always more to the story.
Vance was raised in Middletown, Ohio, which he describes as “An Ohio steel town that has been hemorrhaging jobs and hope for as long as I can remember.” He writes in his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” about his rough upbringing, surrounded by alcoholism, drug addiction and family problems.
He joined the Marines after high school, then went on to Ohio State University and Yale Law School. After a short stint in corporate law, he moved to San Francisco to pursue a career in venture capital.
Years later, Vance won the 2022 Ohio Senate election and on July 15, 2024, Donald Trump announced Vance as his running mate during the Republican National Convention.
For years, Vance spoke about his disdain for Trump.
He’s quoted as saying, “I go back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical asshole like Nixon who wouldn’t be that bad (and might even prove useful) or that he’s America’s Hitler,” Also stating “I can’t stomach Trump, I think that he’s noxious and is leading the White working class to a very dark place.”
This view of Donald Trump changed when Vance began his campaign for a Senate seat in Ohio, a state with a large percentage of Trump supporters. Vance’s political fortunes rose after he received a public endorsement from Trump.
Despite his many controversies, some know Vance as a completely different person from the outspoken, controversial right-wing persona he holds today.
Not only has JD Vance changed his opinion on Trump, but a recent release of emails between Vance and former classmate, Sofia Nelson, show the difference between his opinions before and after his Senate run.
In an interview, Nelson describes the Vance they knew, the one “who was at Nelson’s bedside with homemade baked goods after they went through a gender transition-related surgery,” but would later endorse a ban on gender-affirming care for minors.
“While we did disagree on many political issues,” Nelson Says, “He spoke about people different from him with kindness and respect. And now he uses derision and name calling. And that is something that he adopted when he decided to run for Senate in 2022.”
Now, as an Ohio Senator and vice presidential nominee, Vance opposes access to abortion, same-sex marriage, gun control and American aid to Ukraine.
Critics have described him as a “contemptible and cringe-inducing clown,” while supporters have called him “the voice of the Rust Belt.”
Regardless of his many different reputations, this is the man seeking to become America’s next vice president.
