Now in his second term as president, Donald Trump has remained a very controversial figure, one whose words and actions frequently threaten to divide the nation. And right alongside him is JD Vance, who has proven to be a very faithful vice president. No matter what Trump says or does, you can rest assured of one thing: Vance is going to support it with his whole heart.
But what if we told you that JD Vance’s heart might be completely different from what you expect? For one thing, he has previously made very surprising public statements, including major criticism of Donald Trump. For another thing, some of Vance’s old friends and classmates have revealed that he used to be completely different from the man he presents himself as today.
What did those friends say? And just what does JD Vance really believe? Keep reading to find out!
JD Vance was once supportive of trans rights
One of the hallmarks of Donald Trump’s administration is its negative stance towards transgender individuals. Trump has gone so far as issuing a number of executive orders that affect both trans and nonbinary people, and Vance has firmly supported his boss’s actions. However, it turns out that Vance once had at least one trans friend, and before he became a conservative politician, he was very supportive of her.
That friend was Sofia Nelson, and she attended Yale Law School at the same time as JD Vance. The two of them frequently exchanged emails texts, and she revealed the contents of around 90 messages between them to the New York Times. In one of those messages, he apologized for his description of her in his memoir as “an extremely progressive lesbian,” ending the message with “love you.”
According to Nelson, Vance even brought her cookies when she was recovering from gender reassignment surgery!
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Vance once expressed hatred for the police
Donald Trump has consistently portrayed himself as a law-and-order president. This can be seen most prominently with his frequent crackdowns on illegal immigration and his willingness to send armed forces into cities in order to quell what he sees as unrest. As usual, Vance has always been very supportive of Trump’s orders and the police in general…at least, since he became a politician. Before that, though, Vance had a different view of cops altogether!
JD Vance was close enough with trans friend and Yale colleague Sofia Nelson that they talked about political matters. This included Michael Brown, the young Black man killed by police officers in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown’s death kicked off the Black Lives Matter movement, and incredibly enough, Vance confessed sympathy for Brown and hatred for the police in a message to Nelson. “I hate the police,” he wrote. “Given the number of negative experiences I’ve had in the past few years, I can’t imagine what a Black guy goes through.”
The vice president was once Donald Trump’s biggest critic
For many people, it’s quite surprising to hear JD Vance supporting trans friends and strongly criticizing the police. That’s because his words in those messages are completely different than what we now hear from the man who serves as vice president to Donald Trump. However, Vance’s messages to Sofia Nelson may not be all that surprising to one group: those of us who remember a time when Vance was one of Trump’s biggest critics.
Long before Vance had political aspirations or dreams of being vice president, he had very severe criticisms of Donald Trump. As reported by Politico, this included calling the president “American Hitler,” and saying that the older man was “unfit for our nation’s highest office.” He also called himself “a never Trump guy” and took to social media to declare his willingness to vote for a third party because “I can’t stomach Trump.”
Vance later claimed that his politics changed after he became a father, and he publicly stated that he was wrong about his criticisms of Trump. Others, however, still think Vance is simply a cynical opportunist who will say or do whatever it takes to get and keep power.
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JD Vance and his wife once supported Hillary Clinton (sort of)
Once upon a time, Donald Trump’s fiercest rival was Hillary Clinton, his competitor in the 2016 presidential election. Trump never held back in his fierce criticisms of his Democrat rival, which is why his supporters still associate her name with rally chants of “lock her up.” Because of this, it may be surprising to learn that JD Vance and his wife, Usha, were supporters (to a degree) of Hillary Clinton.
Usha Vance was a registered Democrat until 2014, and she expressed an intent to vote for Hillary Clinton in 2016. As for JD Vance, he wasn’t quite as vocal in his support, but he acknowledged that Hillary would be a better alternative for voters. In an interview with NPR, he said, “If I feel like Trump has a really good chance of winning…I might have to hold my nose and vote for Hillary Clinton.”