February 2016
“I go back and forth between the idea that Trump might be a cynical asshole like Nixon, which wouldn’t be so bad (and might even be useful), or that he might be America’s Hitler.”
Vance had posted the unflattering images of his now-new boss in a Messenger conversation with a former roommate. The former roommate first shared the screenshot after the former president endorsed Vance in the 2022 Ohio Republican primary.
July 2016
“Americans have found a new way to relieve their pain. It promises a quick escape from the worries of life, an easy solution to the growing social problems of American communities and culture. […] He enters the minds, not through the lungs or veins, but through the eyes and ears; his name is Donald Trump.”
These words are taken from an opinion piece signed by Vance, published in 2016 in the magazine The Atlanticin which he calls then-candidate Donald Trump a “cultural heroine.” The title of his post: The People’s OpioidHe ends his text by imploring Americans to abandon the “ephemeral MAGA high” for “real medicine.”
July 2021
“It’s not what you said five years ago, it’s whether you’re willing to stand up and take the hits to defend the interests of the American people.”
During Donald Trump’s presidency, Vance’s view of him evolved significantly, as rumors sent the best-selling author Hillbilly Elegy in the political arena. In the summer of 2021, he walked back his 2016 remarks and deleted several tweets in which he criticized Trump. He then became a senator from Ohio in the 2022 midterm elections.
February 2024
“If I had been vice president [après l’élection de 2020]I would have asked states like Pennsylvania, Georgia and so many others to send multiple contingents of electors, and Congress would have had to fight on that issue.”
As the race to become Donald Trump’s right-hand man was in its infancy, Vance said that if he had been in Mike Pence’s position on January 6, 2021, he would not have defied Donald Trump’s order to do everything in his power to stop the certification of the Electoral College votes – which officially marked Joe Biden’s victory.
July 2024
« Ce que j’ai dit en 2016, c’est parce que j’ai cru aux mensonges des médias. […] I’ve said some bad things about Donald Trump, but I think it’s important to admit when you’re wrong.”
Just hours after becoming Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance had to defend his earlier statements in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Monday night. He said Donald Trump “proved him wrong” and proved he could be a good president.