Just moments before Donald Trump earned the GOP presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention, he unveiled his new running mate: J.D. Vance. Here's what we know about him.
Vance has been called a populist conservative.[76]
Social issues
Vance opposes abortion and he has indicated that he may support a federal ban on abortions after 15 weeks. He has more recently said that abortion laws should be set by the states.[77][78] When asked whether abortion laws should include exceptions for rape and incest, he said, “two wrong[s] don’t make a right.”[79]
Vance opposes the Respect for Marriage Act[80][81] and has said, “I believe that marriage is between one man and one woman, but I don’t think the gay marriage issue is alive right now. I’m not one of these guys who’s looking to try to take people’s families and rip them apart.”[82]
Vance has proposed a bill that would make gender-affirming care for minors a federal felony and block taxpayer funds from being used for it, saying in a statement, “Under no circumstances should doctors be allowed to perform these gruesome, irreversible operations on underage children.”[83]
Immigration and border security
Vance once admonished Trump for demonizing immigrants, but has repeatedly called the effects of illegal immigration “dirty”.[84][85] He has supported Trump’s proposal for a wall along the southern border and rejected the idea that advocates for the border wall are racist. Vance has proposed spending $3 billion to finish Trump’s wall.[86][87] In 2022, he told Tucker Carlson that Democrats “have decided that they can’t win reelection in 2022 unless they bring a large number of new voters to replace the voters that are already here.”[88] This led to political opponent Tim Ryan’s allegations that Vance was endorsing the far-right, white nationalist Great Replacement conspiracy theory, according to which there is an effort to replace white Americans with immigrants.[89][88] Ryan later lost to Vance. During his 2022 U.S. Senate campaign, Vance said that President Joe Biden was flooding Ohio with illegal drugs by not enforcing security at the southern border,[90] a claim The New York Times called “blatantly false”.[91]
In 2023, Vance introduced a bill that would make English the official language of the United States.[92][93]
Foreign policy
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Vance said the U.S. did not want to pull out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), but argued the U.S. should shift its focus to East Asia and that certain European and NATO member countries are not spending enough for their own security.[94][95]
Vance is a vocal critic of U.S. military aid to Ukraine in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War. He has said it is in America’s interest to accept that “Ukraine is going to have to cede some territory to the Russians”.[96] Vance has faced bipartisan criticism for his views on Ukraine. In December 2023, he was criticized for calling for the suspension of further aid to Ukraine because he said it would be used so its ministers “can buy a bigger yacht”.[97]
Vance supports U.S. funding to Israel in the ongoing Israel-Hamas War.[98] When asked whether he would support military action against Iran after militias allegedly connected to Iran attacked U.S. troops, Vance said that it would be a “mistake”, citing concern it would be a significant escalation.[99][100]
Views on child-free marriages, divorce, and domestic abuse
In a 2021 speech to the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, Vance blamed “the childless left” for America’s woes. He praised conservative Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán for encouraging married couples to have children and said that parents should “have a bigger say in how democracy functions” than non-parents.[101]
In September 2021, while speaking at Pacifica Christian High School in California, Vance said, “This is one of the great tricks that I think the sexual revolution pulled on the American populace, which is the idea that, like, ‘well, OK, these marriages were fundamentally, you know, they were maybe even violent, but certainly they were unhappy. And so getting rid of them and making it easier for people to shift spouses like they change their underwear, that’s going to make people happier in the long term.’”[102] Vice wrote that Vance “seemed to suggest that in some cases, ‘even violent’ marriages should continue.” In response to Vice, Vance claimed that rates of domestic violence had “skyrocketed” in recent years due to what he called “modern society’s war on families”. In recent decades, rates of domestic violence have decreased.[103][104] A strategist for Vance called Vice’s characterization misleading and said Vance does not support people staying in abusive relationships.[105]
Antitrust laws
Vance has expressed concern that large tech companies have too much influence in politics and the flow of information and has called to “break up” Google, as well as implying he believes Meta should be split up.[106][107] He has said that Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan, a Biden administration member, is “doing a pretty good job”, citing her antitrust enforcement against tech firms.[106][108] Vance and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse introduced the Stop Subsidizing Giant Mergers Act, which would end tax-free treatment for corporate mergers and acquisitions of companies above a certain threshold.[109][110]
Climate change and the environment
Vance has downplayed the effects of climate change. In response to a radio host who asserted there was no climate crisis, Vance said, “No, I don’t think there is, either.”[111] He has said, “If you think that man-made climate change is a catastrophic problem, the solution for it is for us to produce more of our own energy, including fossil fuels, here in the United States”, implying that outsourcing energy production would cause more pollution.[112] Vance has also argued that environmental regulations have caused a large number of manufacturing jobs to be outsourced to other countries.[113] He has proposed a bill that would repeal certain tax credits created by the Inflation Reduction Act for electric vehicles and would create a $7,500 tax credit for gas-powered cars manufactured in the U.S.[114]
Relationship with Donald Trump
During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Vance was an outspoken critic of Republican nominee Donald Trump. In a February 2016 USA Today column, he wrote that “Trump’s actual policy proposals, such as they are, range from immoral to absurd.”[115] In the Atlantic and on the PBS show hosted by Charlie Rose,[116] Vance called Trump “cultural heroin”[117] and “an opioid of the masses.”[118][119] In October 2016, he called Trump “reprehensible” in a post on Twitter,[120] and called himself a “never-Trump guy.”[121] In a private message on Facebook he called Trump “America’s Hitler”.[122]
By February 2018, Vance began changing his opinion, saying Trump “is one of the few political leaders in America that recognizes the frustration that exists in large parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky and so forth”.[123]
Vance supported Trump in 2020.[124] In July 2021, he apologized for calling Trump “reprehensible” and deleted posts from 2016 from his Twitter account that were critical of him.[125][126] Vance said that he now thought Trump was a good president and expressed regret about his criticism during the 2016 election.[120] Vance visited Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump and Peter Thiel ahead of an official announcement regarding his U.S. Senate campaign.[52]
In October 2021, Vance reiterated Trump’s claims of election fraud, saying that Trump lost the 2020 presidential election because of widespread voter fraud.[127] On April 15, 2022, Trump endorsed Vance for U.S. Senate.[121]
After historian Robert Kagan wrote a November 2023 Washington Post opinion piece titled “A Trump dictatorship is increasingly inevitable. We should stop pretending”, Vance wrote Attorney General Merrick Garland a letter suggesting Kagan be prosecuted for promoting “open rebellion” by Democrat-controlled states. Kagan said that his piece did not advocate rebellion and remarked, “It is revealing that their first instinct when attacked by a journalist is to suggest that they be locked up.”[128][129]
On June 30, 2024, on Face the Nation, Vance said, “I believe that the president has broad pardon authority…but more importantly, I think the president has immunity”.[130]
Labor unions
Vance has said, “As an abstract matter, yes, I support collective bargaining.”[131] He opposes the PRO Act, which expands protections related to employees’ rights to organize and collectively bargain, instead voicing support for proposals by the conservative group American Compass, which includes workers’ councils and sectoral bargaining.[132][133] Vance spoke in support of the 2023 United Auto Workers strike.[134]
Personal life
Vance has been married to a former law school classmate, Usha Chilukuri, since 2014. They have three children.[135] During the mid-2010s, Vance and his wife lived in San Francisco.[136]
Vance was raised in a “conservative, evangelical” branch of Protestantism, but by September 2016, he was “thinking very seriously about converting to Catholicism” but was “not an active participant” in any particular Christian denomination.[137] In August 2019, Vance was baptized and confirmed in the Catholic Church in a ceremony at St. Gertrude Priory in Cincinnati, Ohio. He chose Augustine of Hippo as his confirmation saint. Vance said he converted because he “became persuaded over time that Catholicism was true […] and Augustine gave me a way to understand Christian faith in a strongly intellectual way”, further describing Catholic theology’s influence on his political views.[138]
I believe that marriage is between one man and one woman, but I don’t think the gay marriage issue is alive right now. I’m not one of these guys who’s looking to try to take people’s families and rip them apart."
That’s right, now is not convenient, but once the government purge and the fascist revolution begins, hey why not add it to the pile?
Political positions
Vance has been called a populist conservative.[76]
Social issues Vance opposes abortion and he has indicated that he may support a federal ban on abortions after 15 weeks. He has more recently said that abortion laws should be set by the states.[77][78] When asked whether abortion laws should include exceptions for rape and incest, he said, “two wrong[s] don’t make a right.”[79]
Vance opposes the Respect for Marriage Act[80][81] and has said, “I believe that marriage is between one man and one woman, but I don’t think the gay marriage issue is alive right now. I’m not one of these guys who’s looking to try to take people’s families and rip them apart.”[82]
Vance has proposed a bill that would make gender-affirming care for minors a federal felony and block taxpayer funds from being used for it, saying in a statement, “Under no circumstances should doctors be allowed to perform these gruesome, irreversible operations on underage children.”[83]
Immigration and border security Vance once admonished Trump for demonizing immigrants, but has repeatedly called the effects of illegal immigration “dirty”.[84][85] He has supported Trump’s proposal for a wall along the southern border and rejected the idea that advocates for the border wall are racist. Vance has proposed spending $3 billion to finish Trump’s wall.[86][87] In 2022, he told Tucker Carlson that Democrats “have decided that they can’t win reelection in 2022 unless they bring a large number of new voters to replace the voters that are already here.”[88] This led to political opponent Tim Ryan’s allegations that Vance was endorsing the far-right, white nationalist Great Replacement conspiracy theory, according to which there is an effort to replace white Americans with immigrants.[89][88] Ryan later lost to Vance. During his 2022 U.S. Senate campaign, Vance said that President Joe Biden was flooding Ohio with illegal drugs by not enforcing security at the southern border,[90] a claim The New York Times called “blatantly false”.[91]
In 2023, Vance introduced a bill that would make English the official language of the United States.[92][93]
Foreign policy Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Vance said the U.S. did not want to pull out of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), but argued the U.S. should shift its focus to East Asia and that certain European and NATO member countries are not spending enough for their own security.[94][95]
Vance is a vocal critic of U.S. military aid to Ukraine in the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War. He has said it is in America’s interest to accept that “Ukraine is going to have to cede some territory to the Russians”.[96] Vance has faced bipartisan criticism for his views on Ukraine. In December 2023, he was criticized for calling for the suspension of further aid to Ukraine because he said it would be used so its ministers “can buy a bigger yacht”.[97]
Vance supports U.S. funding to Israel in the ongoing Israel-Hamas War.[98] When asked whether he would support military action against Iran after militias allegedly connected to Iran attacked U.S. troops, Vance said that it would be a “mistake”, citing concern it would be a significant escalation.[99][100]
Views on child-free marriages, divorce, and domestic abuse In a 2021 speech to the Intercollegiate Studies Institute, Vance blamed “the childless left” for America’s woes. He praised conservative Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán for encouraging married couples to have children and said that parents should “have a bigger say in how democracy functions” than non-parents.[101]
In September 2021, while speaking at Pacifica Christian High School in California, Vance said, “This is one of the great tricks that I think the sexual revolution pulled on the American populace, which is the idea that, like, ‘well, OK, these marriages were fundamentally, you know, they were maybe even violent, but certainly they were unhappy. And so getting rid of them and making it easier for people to shift spouses like they change their underwear, that’s going to make people happier in the long term.’”[102] Vice wrote that Vance “seemed to suggest that in some cases, ‘even violent’ marriages should continue.” In response to Vice, Vance claimed that rates of domestic violence had “skyrocketed” in recent years due to what he called “modern society’s war on families”. In recent decades, rates of domestic violence have decreased.[103][104] A strategist for Vance called Vice’s characterization misleading and said Vance does not support people staying in abusive relationships.[105]
Antitrust laws Vance has expressed concern that large tech companies have too much influence in politics and the flow of information and has called to “break up” Google, as well as implying he believes Meta should be split up.[106][107] He has said that Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan, a Biden administration member, is “doing a pretty good job”, citing her antitrust enforcement against tech firms.[106][108] Vance and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse introduced the Stop Subsidizing Giant Mergers Act, which would end tax-free treatment for corporate mergers and acquisitions of companies above a certain threshold.[109][110]
Climate change and the environment Vance has downplayed the effects of climate change. In response to a radio host who asserted there was no climate crisis, Vance said, “No, I don’t think there is, either.”[111] He has said, “If you think that man-made climate change is a catastrophic problem, the solution for it is for us to produce more of our own energy, including fossil fuels, here in the United States”, implying that outsourcing energy production would cause more pollution.[112] Vance has also argued that environmental regulations have caused a large number of manufacturing jobs to be outsourced to other countries.[113] He has proposed a bill that would repeal certain tax credits created by the Inflation Reduction Act for electric vehicles and would create a $7,500 tax credit for gas-powered cars manufactured in the U.S.[114]
Relationship with Donald Trump During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Vance was an outspoken critic of Republican nominee Donald Trump. In a February 2016 USA Today column, he wrote that “Trump’s actual policy proposals, such as they are, range from immoral to absurd.”[115] In the Atlantic and on the PBS show hosted by Charlie Rose,[116] Vance called Trump “cultural heroin”[117] and “an opioid of the masses.”[118][119] In October 2016, he called Trump “reprehensible” in a post on Twitter,[120] and called himself a “never-Trump guy.”[121] In a private message on Facebook he called Trump “America’s Hitler”.[122]
By February 2018, Vance began changing his opinion, saying Trump “is one of the few political leaders in America that recognizes the frustration that exists in large parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, eastern Kentucky and so forth”.[123]
Vance supported Trump in 2020.[124] In July 2021, he apologized for calling Trump “reprehensible” and deleted posts from 2016 from his Twitter account that were critical of him.[125][126] Vance said that he now thought Trump was a good president and expressed regret about his criticism during the 2016 election.[120] Vance visited Mar-a-Lago to meet with Trump and Peter Thiel ahead of an official announcement regarding his U.S. Senate campaign.[52]
In October 2021, Vance reiterated Trump’s claims of election fraud, saying that Trump lost the 2020 presidential election because of widespread voter fraud.[127] On April 15, 2022, Trump endorsed Vance for U.S. Senate.[121]
After historian Robert Kagan wrote a November 2023 Washington Post opinion piece titled “A Trump dictatorship is increasingly inevitable. We should stop pretending”, Vance wrote Attorney General Merrick Garland a letter suggesting Kagan be prosecuted for promoting “open rebellion” by Democrat-controlled states. Kagan said that his piece did not advocate rebellion and remarked, “It is revealing that their first instinct when attacked by a journalist is to suggest that they be locked up.”[128][129]
On June 30, 2024, on Face the Nation, Vance said, “I believe that the president has broad pardon authority…but more importantly, I think the president has immunity”.[130]
Labor unions Vance has said, “As an abstract matter, yes, I support collective bargaining.”[131] He opposes the PRO Act, which expands protections related to employees’ rights to organize and collectively bargain, instead voicing support for proposals by the conservative group American Compass, which includes workers’ councils and sectoral bargaining.[132][133] Vance spoke in support of the 2023 United Auto Workers strike.[134]
Personal life Vance has been married to a former law school classmate, Usha Chilukuri, since 2014. They have three children.[135] During the mid-2010s, Vance and his wife lived in San Francisco.[136]
Vance was raised in a “conservative, evangelical” branch of Protestantism, but by September 2016, he was “thinking very seriously about converting to Catholicism” but was “not an active participant” in any particular Christian denomination.[137] In August 2019, Vance was baptized and confirmed in the Catholic Church in a ceremony at St. Gertrude Priory in Cincinnati, Ohio. He chose Augustine of Hippo as his confirmation saint. Vance said he converted because he “became persuaded over time that Catholicism was true […] and Augustine gave me a way to understand Christian faith in a strongly intellectual way”, further describing Catholic theology’s influence on his political views.[138]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._D._Vance
That’s right, now is not convenient, but once the government purge and the fascist revolution begins, hey why not add it to the pile?