In September 2021, J.D. Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy and then a candidate for the Republican Senate nomination in Ohio, appeared on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight. Dressed in a crisp white button-down and navy blazer, he proposed using federal government powers to penalize private universities and nonprofits for promoting “radical left-wing ideology.”
“Why are we allowing the companies that are destroying this country to receive tax preferences?” he questioned. “Why don’t we seize the assets of the Ford Foundation, tax their assets, and give it to the people who’ve had their lives destroyed by their radical open-borders agenda?”
Vance’s strategy to win favor with former President Donald Trump involved launching a culture-war offensive against progressives, disregarding the rule of law. His gamble paid off when Trump selected Vance as his vice presidential running mate, now a senator from Ohio.
Initially critical of Trump, Vance tweeted in 2016 that Trump “makes people I care about afraid. Immigrants, Muslims, etc. Because of this I find him reprehensible.” In response to the Access Hollywood tape, Vance expressed disappointment: “Fellow Christians, everyone is watching us when we apologize for this man.”
He deleted these tweets, along with others criticizing Trump, while seeking Trump’s endorsement in the 2022 primary. The endorsement helped him secure the GOP nomination and later the Senate seat.
Vance’s “America First” economic and foreign policy views are believed to resonate with blue-collar voters in swing states. Trump emphasized on Truth Social that his running mate would focus on “the American Workers and Farmers in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, and far beyond.”
A former U.S. Marine turned venture capitalist, Vance has expressed authoritarian views on government power, suggesting conservatives should “seize the administrative state” and ignore court rulings they disagree with.
He has also promoted hostility towards certain groups, such as leftists and the coastal elite. In a 2021 interview with The American Conservative, Vance stated that his supporters “hate the right people.” A campaign spokesperson reiterated that Vance believes political, financial, and Big Tech elites “deserve nothing but our scorn and hatred.”