JD Vance: From Trump critic to vice president | DW Documentary
DW Documentary
128,303 views Aug 9, 2026
From hillbilly to the White House: JD Vance’s rise to become Trump’s vice president is seen by many as symbolic of a worrying trend in the US that’s further polarizing society.
JD Vance’s story is the story of an America that has long felt overlooked. An America of the white working class, marked by economic decline, the opioid crisis and the aftermath of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. An America that fears losing even the little that it still holds on to, through migration and social upheaval.
JD Vance has undergone a remarkable transformation: from a fierce critic of Donald Trump to a loyal supporter of the MAGA movement and, ultimately, Trump’s vice president. As far as his supporters are concerned, it is a career trajectory that gives him credibility. Critics, on the other hand, see in his politics a dynamic that could upset the political balance in the US and endanger democracy. Some already regard him as a potential contender for the presidency.
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<JD 밴스: 트럼프 비판자에서 부통령으로>에 대한 요약과 평론입니다.
<핵심 요약>
<1. 성장 배경과 회고록 출간>
오하이오주 미들타운의 쇠락한 러스트 벨트 지역 출신으로, 마약 중독에 시달리던 어머니 대신 조부모의 보살핌 속에서 자랐다
. 고등학교 졸업 후 해병대에 입대해 이라크 파병을 거치며 미국의 네오콘 대외 개입주의와 정치 엘리트 계층에 깊은 회의감을 품게 되었다
. 제대 후 오하이오 주립대와 예일대 로스쿨을 졸업했으며, 백인 노동자 계층의 절망과 가족사를 다룬 자서전 <힐빌리의 노래>(Hillbilly Elegy)를 출간해 전국적인 명성을 얻었다
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<2. 정치적 전향과 권력 핵심부 진입>
2016년 트럼프의 등장 초기에는 그를 '도덕적으로 비난받을 인물', '미국의 히틀러 후보', '정치적 헤로인'이라 부르며 강하게 비판했다
. 피터 틸(Peter Thiel)을 비롯한 후원자들의 지원과 가톨릭 개종, 그리고 포스트자유주의(Post-liberalism) 사상 수용을 거치며 트럼프 지지 성향으로 급선회했다
. 2022년 오하이오주 연방 상원의원에 당선되었고, 트럼프 주니어와 찰리 커크 등의 전폭적인 지지를 받아 2024년 트럼프의 러닝메이트로 낙점되어 40세의 나이로 부통령에 취임했다
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<3. 대외 정책 및 정치적 행보>
뮌헨 안보회의 등 국제 외교 무대에서 유럽 지도자들을 향해 대규모 이민과 포퓰리즘 배제를 지적하며 유럽 내부의 위험을 직접 경고했다
. 젤렌스키 우크라이나 대통령과의 백악관 회담에서 공격적인 태도를 취하는 등 트럼프의 '미국 우선주의'(America First)와 고립주의 기조를 앞장서서 집행했다
. 정치적 동지였던 찰리 커크의 피격 사망 이후 이를 좌파의 폭력성으로 규정하며 우파 진영 내 분노를 결집했고, 차기 대선(2028년 등)의 가장 유력한 계승자로 자리매김했다
. 동시에 닉 푸엔테스로 대표되는 극우 백인 우월주의 세력의 비난과 당내 급진 세력 관리라는 과제에 직면해 있다
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<평론: 카멜레온적 권력 추구와 포스트자유주의 우파의 완성>
<1. 엘리트주의에 맞선 '힐빌리' 서사의 권력화>
밴스의 가장 강력한 무기는 자신의 불우한 유년 시절과 러스트 벨트 노동자 계층의 정서를 대변하는 자전적 서사다
<2. 기회주의적 전향인가, 사상적 진화인가>
과거 트럼프를 맹렬히 비난하던 비판자에서 가장 강경한 옹호자로 변신한 점은 그에게 늘 '카멜레온'이라는 꼬리표를 붙게 만든다
<3. 트럼피즘의 소프트웨어 업데이트와 그 한계>
밴스는 본능과 카리스마에 의존하는 트럼프의 원형을 체계적인 논리와 젊은 에너지로 계승한 '트럼프 2.0' 내지 '소프트웨어 업데이트 버전'으로 작동한다
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<JD 밴스: 트럼프 비판자에서 부통령으로> 요약 평론
DW Documentary, 2026
DW의 다큐멘터리 <JD Vance: From Trump critic to vice president>는 JD 밴스의 개인적 성공담을 다루는 전기물이 아니다. 오히려 “어떻게 2016년 도널드 트럼프를 ‘미국의 히틀러’에 비유할 정도로 혐오했던 젊은 보수 지식인이 불과 몇 년 만에 MAGA 운동의 핵심 인물이 되고 미국 부통령까지 되었는가”라는 정치적 변신의 문제를 추적한다. 이 다큐의 핵심 주제는 밴스 개인의 기회주의 여부를 넘어, 지난 20년 동안 미국 보수주의 자체가 어떻게 변했는가에 있다.
1. 러스트벨트의 아이
다큐는 2025년 뮌헨안보회의에서 시작한다. 밴스는 유럽 지도자들에게 “유럽의 가장 큰 위협은 러시아나 중국이 아니라 내부에서 오는 위협”이라고 말하며, 표현의 자유와 민주주의를 억압하는 유럽 엘리트를 비판한다. 이 장면은 현재의 밴스를 먼저 보여준 뒤 그의 고향 오하이오주 미들타운으로 거슬러 올라가는 구성이다.
미들타운은 한때 철강산업으로 번영했지만 탈산업화, 실업, 약물중독, 가정 해체를 겪은 전형적인 미국 러스트벨트 도시로 묘사된다. 밴스 자신도 안정된 중산층 가정의 아이가 아니었다. 어머니 베브는 약물중독에 시달렸고 남자관계가 끊임없이 바뀌었다. 밴스가 의지했던 사람은 조부모, 특히 강인한 외할머니 “Mamaw”였다.
여기서 다큐는 <힐빌리의 노래(Hillbilly Elegy)>의 핵심 이야기를 그대로 밴스의 정치적 정체성의 출발점으로 사용한다.
가난, 가족 해체, 약물중독, 폭력, 공동체 붕괴가 밴스에게 “미국 사회에는 엘리트들이 이해하지 못하는 깊은 위기가 존재한다”는 감각을 심어주었다는 것이다.
그러나 중요한 것은 밴스가 그 환경에서 탈출했다는 사실이다. 그는 해병대에 입대하고 이라크에서 복무한 뒤 오하이오주립대를 거쳐 예일 로스쿨에 진학한다.
이것이 밴스 정치사상의 첫 번째 역설이다.
그는 엘리트를 비판하는 정치인이지만, 실제로는 미국 최고의 엘리트 교육기관을 통해 정치·경제 권력의 중심으로 들어간 사람이다.
2. 이라크 전쟁이 만든 보수주의에 대한 회의
다큐가 흥미롭게 강조하는 부분은 밴스의 이라크전 경험이다.
젊은 밴스는 조지 W. 부시를 지지했고 이라크전쟁도 지지했다. 그러나 해병으로 실제 이라크에 가면서 생각이 달라졌다. 미국이 군사력으로 독재자를 제거하고 자유민주주의를 만들어낼 수 있다는 신보수주의적 믿음에 회의를 품게 되었다.
그는 이후 미국 정치 엘리트가 “거짓말과 미디어 서사를 만들어 자신들이 원하는 정책을 정당화한다”고 생각하게 된다.
이 경험은 훗날의 밴스 외교정책을 이해하는 중요한 열쇠다.
그가 우크라이나 지원에 회의적이고, NATO와 유럽에 냉담하며, “America First”를 주장하는 것은 단순한 트럼프 추종이라기보다 이라크전쟁 이후 형성된 미국의 해외개입에 대한 불신과 연결되어 있다고 다큐는 해석한다.
즉,
부시 시대의 신보수주의 → 이라크전쟁에 대한 환멸 → 비개입주의·America First
라는 사상적 이동이 있었다는 것이다.
이 부분은 이 다큐에서 상당히 설득력이 있다.
3. 예일과 Peter Thiel
밴스 인생에서 결정적인 두 번째 환경은 예일 로스쿨이다.
그는 예일에서 미래의 아내 우샤 칠루쿠리를 만나고 미국 최상층 엘리트 세계에 진입한다. 동시에 자신이 출신계급 때문에 문화적으로 낯선 사람이라는 느낌을 받는다.
다큐는 여기서 하나의 중요한 모순을 발견한다.
밴스는 예일 엘리트 문화에 들어가면서 동시에 엘리트에 대한 반감을 키웠다는 것이다.
그리고 그의 인생에서 가장 중요한 인물 중 하나인 Peter Thiel이 등장한다.
페이팔 공동창업자이자 실리콘밸리의 보수·자유지상주의 사상가인 틸은 예일에서 강연했고 밴스에게 깊은 영향을 미친다. 다큐는 틸의 민주주의에 대한 회의와 기술·기업가 정신을 통한 기존 정치질서 탈출이라는 사상이 밴스에게 중요한 지적 자극을 주었다고 본다.
졸업 후 밴스는 틸의 세계로 들어가 벤처캐피털 활동을 시작한다.
따라서 “가난한 애팔래치아 출신 청년이 홀로 자수성가했다”는 <힐빌리의 노래>식 이야기는 완전한 설명이 아니다.
밴스의 상승에는
미 해병대 → 오하이오주립대 → 예일 → Peter Thiel → 벤처캐피털 → 미디어
라는 매우 강력한 엘리트 네트워크가 존재했다.
이 점을 보여주는 것이 다큐의 중요한 장점이다.
4. <힐빌리의 노래>와 반트럼프 밴스
2016년 <Hillbilly Elegy>가 베스트셀러가 되면서 밴스는 전국적 인물이 된다.
흥미로운 것은 당시 밴스가 MAGA의 대변인이 아니라 오히려 트럼프를 설명하는 “합리적인 보수주의자”였다는 사실이다.
그는 자유주의적 언론과 방송에 자주 출연해 러스트벨트 백인 노동계급의 분노를 설명했다.
그러면서 트럼프를 매우 강하게 비판했다.
다큐에 따르면 그는 트럼프를
- “도덕적으로 비난받아 마땅한 인간”
- “완전한 사기꾼”
- “미국의 히틀러”
- 백인 노동자의 문제를 해결하지 않고 오히려 이용하는 정치인
이라고까지 표현했다.
당시 밴스의 논리는 분명했다.
트럼프는 백인 노동계급이 겪는 실제 문제를 발견했지만 해결책을 주지 못하고 그들의 분노를 정치적으로 이용한다는 것이었다.
따라서 2016년 밴스와 2026년 밴스 사이의 거리는 실로 크다.
5. 그렇다면 왜 트럼프로 돌아섰는가
이 다큐의 가장 중요한 질문이다.
밴스 자신은 “트럼프에 대해 틀렸다는 것을 깨달았다”고 설명한다. 트럼프 집권 이후 무역, 이민, 외교 등에서 자신과 생각이 상당히 비슷하다는 사실을 발견했다는 것이다.
하지만 다큐는 그것만으로 설명하지 않는다.
세 가지 변화가 동시에 일어났다고 본다.
첫째는 미국 공화당 자체의 변화다.
부시 시대의 공화당은 자유무역, 기업, 군사개입, 작은 정부를 중시했다. 트럼프 이후의 공화당은 보호무역, 이민 제한, 문화전쟁, 국가주의, 노동계급 포퓰리즘으로 이동했다.
밴스가 공화당에 맞춘 것만이 아니라 공화당도 밴스가 생각하던 방향으로 이동한 것이다.
둘째는 정치적 야망이다.
오하이오에서 상원의원이 되려면 트럼프의 지지를 얻지 않고서는 거의 불가능했다. 과거의 반트럼프 발언을 사과하고 MAGA에 들어가는 것은 정치적 현실이기도 했다.
셋째는 종교적 변화다.
6. 가톨릭 개종과 정치적 세계관
밴스는 2019년 가톨릭으로 개종한다.
다큐는 이를 단순한 개인 종교생활이 아니라 정치사상 변화와 연결한다.
밴스에게 가톨릭은 개인주의에 대한 대안이었다. 가족, 공동체, 전통, 생명의 신성함, 사회적 의무 등을 강조하는 가톨릭 사회사상이 그의 보수주의와 결합했다.
그 결과 밴스는
낙태 반대,
전통적 가족,
성혁명 비판,
반(反)워키즘,
공동체주의,
국가의 역할 확대
등을 더욱 적극적으로 주장하게 된다.
흥미롭게도 이것은 전통적인 미국 자유지상주의 보수주의와는 상당히 다르다.
“국가는 작을수록 좋다”가 아니라,
“건전한 가족과 공동체를 보호하기 위해 국가는 적극적으로 개입할 수 있다”
는 새로운 보수주의이다.
다큐는 이것을 미국 보수주의 내부의 “가톨릭적 전환” 또는 post-liberal conservatism의 일부로 바라본다.
7. 상원의원에서 트럼프 후계자로
2022년 오하이오 상원의원 선거에서 밴스는 트럼프의 지지를 받으면서 결정적으로 MAGA 정치인으로 변신한다.
그 과정에서 과거 트럼프 비판은 사실상 청산된다.
트럼프도 밴스의 과거 발언을 알고 있었지만 그를 받아들인다.
다큐가 보여주는 흥미로운 장면 가운데 하나는 밴스가 트럼프를 단순한 정치적 동맹 이상으로 받아들이는 과정이다.
밴스 주변 사람들은 트럼프 지지를 그의 가톨릭 개종과 연결시키기도 한다.
즉 정치적 “conversion”과 종교적 “conversion”이 거의 동시에 일어났다는 것이다.
그리고 2024년 트럼프는 밴스를 부통령 후보로 선택한다.
여기서 Peter Thiel, Tucker Carlson, Donald Trump Jr. 등이 밴스를 밀었다는 점도 다큐가 강조한다.
이는 밴스가 우연히 부통령이 된 것이 아니라 새로운 미국 우파의 여러 흐름이 만나는 지점에 위치했다는 것을 보여준다.
8. 밴스와 유럽: 새로운 국제 우파
후반부는 특히 DW다운 시각이 강하다.
밴스는 유럽연합의 자유주의 정치 엘리트보다는 유럽의 민족주의·우파 정치인들에게 더 친근감을 느낀다.
그는 유럽 정치에서 가장 큰 위험을 러시아가 아니라
엘리트주의,
대량이민,
표현의 자유 억압,
민주적 선택을 제한하는 제도
에서 찾는다.
그리고 유럽의 새로운 우파들과 자신 사이에 공통점이 있다고 말한다.
이것은 단순한 미국 고립주의와는 조금 다르다.
밴스가 추구하는 것은 국제주의의 종말이라기보다는 새로운 형태의 “국제적 민족주의 연대”에 가깝다.
즉
미국 MAGA
↔ 유럽 민족주의 우파
↔ 반이민
↔ 반글로벌리즘
↔ 반엘리트주의
가 하나의 국제적 정치 흐름을 형성한다.
이 점은 현재 밴스를 이해하는 데 매우 중요하다.
9. Charlie Kirk 이후와 “포스트 트럼프”
다큐 후반에는 Charlie Kirk의 죽음과 그 이후 밴스의 역할이 상당히 중요하게 등장한다.
다큐의 서술에 따르면 밴스는 커크 추도 프로그램을 직접 진행하고, 그의 죽음을 미국 보수운동이 직면한 정치·문화적 갈등과 연결한다.
이 부분부터 다큐의 질문은 더 이상
“왜 밴스가 변했는가?”
가 아니다.
오히려
“트럼프 이후 누가 MAGA를 계승할 것인가?”
로 바뀐다.
그리고 밴스가 가장 강력한 후보 가운데 하나라는 것이 다큐의 결론이다.
하지만 오른쪽에도 경쟁자가 있다.
Nick Fuentes와 같은 훨씬 급진적인 우파가 등장하고 있기 때문이다.
따라서 밴스는 두 방향에서 압력을 받는다.
자유주의 미국 ← 밴스 → 극우 민족주의
다큐는 이 위치가 앞으로 그의 가장 큰 정치적 시험이 될 것이라고 본다.
평론
이 다큐의 가장 좋은 점은 밴스의 변화를 단순히 “기회주의자의 변절”로 설명하지 않는다는 데 있다.
물론 정치적 계산은 분명 존재한다. 그러나 다큐를 끝까지 보면 더 큰 그림이 보인다.
실제로 변한 것은 밴스 한 사람이 아니라 미국 보수주의 전체이다.
2004년의 보수주의:
자유시장 + 자유무역 + 세계화 + 이라크전쟁 + 민주주의 확산
에서
2026년의 보수주의:
보호무역 + 국경 + 가족 + 민족 + 문화전쟁 + 비개입주의
로 중심축이 이동했다.
따라서 밴스는 이 변화를 타고난 정치인이면서 동시에 그 변화를 가장 선명하게 구현하는 정치인이다.
그러나 다큐가 좀 더 깊게 파고들었으면 하는 부분도 있다.
첫째, 밴스의 “노동계급 정치”와 실제 경제정책 사이의 관계가 충분히 분석되지 않는다. 노동계급을 말하는 것과 노동계급에게 실제로 유리한 정책을 시행하는 것은 다른 문제다.
둘째, 밴스의 가장 흥미로운 모순인 “반엘리트 엘리트” 문제도 더 깊이 다룰 수 있었다.
그는 예일 출신이며 Peter Thiel의 후원을 받아 정치에 입문했다. 그러면서 대학, 언론, 워싱턴 엘리트를 공격한다.
그러므로 밴스가 반대하는 것은 엘리트 그 자체라기보다 “자신과 다른 가치관을 가진 엘리트”라고 보는 것이 더 정확할 수 있다.
셋째, DW의 유럽 자유주의적 시선 역시 염두에 둘 필요가 있다. 다큐는 밴스를 “극우화되는 미국 보수주의”라는 틀 안에서 해석하는 경향이 강하다. 이것은 어느 정도 타당하지만, 미국 보수층이 왜 이 메시지에 매력을 느끼는지에 대한 내부적 논리를 때로는 충분히 인정하지 않는다.
그들의 시각에서 문제는 단순히 “민주주의를 싫어하는 우익”이 아니다.
그들은 오히려
“선출되지 않은 관료·대학·언론·법원·국제기관이 민주적 다수의 선택을 막고 있다”
고 주장한다.
밴스의 민주주의 비판을 이해하려면 이 점까지 들어가야 한다.
결론
이 다큐가 보여주는 JD 밴스의 가장 중요한 특징은 “트럼프의 충실한 부통령”이라는 사실이 아니다.
그는 오히려 트럼프 이후의 미국 우파가 어떤 모습이 될 가능성이 있는지를 보여주는 인물이다.
트럼프의 정치가 본능적이고 개인적이라면 밴스의 정치는 훨씬 이념적이다.
트럼프가 말한다면
“그들이 우리를 속였다.”
밴스는 거기에 이론을 붙인다.
“왜 엘리트 지배체제가 그렇게 작동하며, 어떤 국가·가족·공동체 질서로 그것을 대체해야 하는가.”
그래서 장기적으로 보면 밴스는 트럼프보다 오히려 더 중요한 인물이 될 수도 있다.
이 다큐의 진짜 제목을 조금 바꾼다면 나는 이렇게 부르고 싶다.
<JD Vance: From Trump Critic to the Ideologue of Post-Trump America>
즉 <트럼프 비판자에서 포스트-트럼프 미국의 이론가로>이다.
이것이 DW 다큐가 약 57분 동안 추적한 밴스의 변신을 가장 정확하게 압축하는 표현이라고 생각한다
===
Transcript
===
0:055 secondsThe 61st Munich Security Conference is set to kick off today as is the… Leaders from around the world gathering to discuss pressing security issues. Key figures like the U. S. Vice President JD Vance…
0:3737 secondsPlease welcome Vice President JD Vance.
0:4848 secondsI hope that's not the last bit of applause that I get, but we gather at this conference of course to discuss security…
0:5555 secondsJD Vance, at the age of 40, was sworn in as Vice President of the United States.
1:001 minuteJust a month later, he was in Munich, taking center stage in the arena of international diplomacy.
1:071 minute, 7 secondsSpeaking to an audience of elected officials, diplomats and high ranking officers, Vance delivered a message… or rather, a warning.
1:171 minute, 17 secondsThe threat that I worry the most about, vis a vis Europe, is the threat from within.
1:251 minute, 25 secondsThe retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values, values shared with the United States of America.
1:341 minute, 34 secondsAs Pope John Paul II once said: Do not be afraid.
1:401 minute, 40 secondsWe shouldn't be afraid of our people even when they express views that disagree with their leadership.
1:481 minute, 48 secondsThank you all. Good luck to all of you. God bless you. Vance's speech seemed to leave the room in shock.
1:591 minute, 59 secondsWho was this man who had lectured European leaders on democracy…
2:052 minutes, 5 secondswho had criticized them for supposedly excluding and suppressing populist and right wing viewpoints?
2:152 minutes, 15 secondsTo understand JD Vance and how he came to hold the nation's second highest office, one must go back to where his journey first began: Middletown, Ohio.
2:252 minutes, 25 secondsA small city nestled in the Rust Belt, marked by the memory of a lost industry.
2:322 minutes, 32 secondsA place that tells the story of a deindustrializing nation… a nation in crisis.
3:053 minutes, 5 secondsI was born here in 1956. Family been living here for a long time.
3:133 minutes, 13 secondsIt was a good place to live. Middletown has always been a good place to live.
3:243 minutes, 24 secondsHis mother, Bev, was one, two… the third house down from me. The tan house now has been freshly re… you know…
3:383 minutes, 38 secondsRight there where Dale's setting down on Joyce's. That's Joyce's house now.
3:493 minutes, 49 secondsJD, he was born in 1984. And I was laid off and went back to work right after he was born.
4:014 minutes, 1 secondLaid off for two years. It wasn't an easy time.
4:164 minutes, 16 secondsThis is where JD Vance grew up… where his grandparents came to build a better life, find work in the steel industry and fulfill their American Dream.
4:284 minutes, 28 secondsBut for many, the American Dream was a promise that could not be fulfilled. I came from a southern Ohio steel town.
4:394 minutes, 39 secondsAnd it's a town that's really struggling in a lot of ways, in ways that are indicative of the broader struggles of America's working class.
4:524 minutes, 52 secondsHeroin has moved in, killing a lot of people, people I know. Family violence, domestic violence and divorce have torn apart families.
5:015 minutes, 1 secondAnd there's a very unique sense of pessimism that's moved in.
5:055 minutes, 5 secondsThink about rising mortality rates in these communities and recognize that… for a lot of these folks…
5:105 minutes, 10 secondsthe problems that they're seeing are actually causing rising death rates in their own communities. So, there's a very real sense of struggle.
5:215 minutes, 21 secondsNow I had a very front row seat to that struggle.
5:245 minutes, 24 secondsMy family has been part of that struggle for a very long time.
5:305 minutes, 30 secondsI come from a family that doesn't have a whole lot of money.
5:355 minutes, 35 secondsThe addiction that plagued my community also plagued my family and even sadly, my own mom.
5:455 minutes, 45 secondsI wasn't able to think.
5:485 minutes, 48 secondsYou know, my mind was drug addled, and I didn't think about anything except just getting high. That's all I thought about for years.
5:595 minutes, 59 secondsI've only been clean 10 and a half years, so 15 years ago, I was spiraling down.
6:076 minutes, 7 secondsHe was a good kid. He was a very well behaved kid. I think he was actually kind of shy as a kid.
6:186 minutes, 18 secondsBut he was a good kid.
6:216 minutes, 21 secondsHe never let me down. There were several years that my kids didn't speak to me though in my later addiction. I think it was just too painful.
6:296 minutes, 29 secondsAnd they've said since then they thought I was going to die.
6:336 minutes, 33 secondsSo, I mean I didn't realize how bad my addiction was, but that's what they've told me is: They thought I was going to die.
6:476 minutes, 47 secondsThis is JD Vance's grandmother's house: This one right here: 313.
6:546 minutes, 54 secondsI could hear Bonnie easy. Talked to her a lot.
7:027 minutes, 2 secondsBonnie was a little hardcore. That's where she came from.
7:087 minutes, 8 secondsShe was a tough bird, back in the 80s. You couldn't tell what was actually happening.
7:167 minutes, 16 secondsYou knew just… nobody was having fun when they were arguing.
7:227 minutes, 22 secondsFrom my bedroom, you could hear whether there was excitement or there wasn't excitement happening two doors down.
7:337 minutes, 33 secondsMy mom was 12 when she saw my grandma set my grandfather on fire.
7:417 minutes, 41 secondsHis crime was that he came home drunk after she told him: If you come home drunk, I'm going to kill you.
7:497 minutes, 49 secondsWell, one thing that happened is that my grandparents, the same grandparents of setting someone on fire fame, they really shaped up by the time I came around.
7:577 minutes, 57 secondsThey provided me a stable home, stable family.
8:018 minutes, 1 secondThey made sure that when my parents weren't able to do the things that kids need, they stepped in and filled that role.
8:198 minutes, 19 secondsJuly 2024. Thank you, please. The Republican National Convention. Wow. Wow.
8:298 minutes, 29 secondsJD Vance was elated.
8:318 minutes, 31 secondsDonald Trump announced he'd chosen Vance as his running mate in the November presidential election.
8:378 minutes, 37 secondsNow, never in my wildest imagination could I have believed that I'd be standing here tonight. That night, he gave a nod to his roots.
8:468 minutes, 46 secondsO H I O. O H I O. And about six months later, he was walking into the Oval Office.
8:558 minutes, 55 secondsCome on in, here's Margo. Hey Margo. Good to see you. Good to see you too.
9:099 minutes, 9 secondsThis is incredible. But Vance quickly settled into the role… and it soon became
9:179 minutes, 17 secondsapparent he'd be far more front and center than many of his predecessors.
9:219 minutes, 21 secondsThe new vice president stunned some observers with his confrontative style.
9:269 minutes, 26 secondsI think the best encapsulation of how JD operates as vice president is: Look at that Oval Office meeting between Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky from Ukraine.
9:379 minutes, 37 secondsWell, thank you very much. It's an honor to have President Zelensky of Ukraine…
9:439 minutes, 43 secondsThat meeting was, like, kind of going fine. And then JD comes bursting in there like the Kool Aid Man and starts berating Zelensky for like, you know, haven't you said thank you yet?
9:539 minutes, 53 secondsLike why aren't you grateful? And all this.
9:569 minutes, 56 secondsMr. President, Mr. President, with respect: I think it's disrespectful for you to come into the Oval Office and try to litigate this in front of the American media.
10:0210 minutes, 2 secondsRight now, you guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the frontlines because you have manpower problems.
10:0910 minutes, 9 secondsYou should be thanking the president for trying to bring it into this conversation. Have you ever been to Ukraine that you say what problems we have?
10:1510 minutes, 15 secondsThat was JD taking global affairs, you know, kind of in the palm of his hand and being like, let's try this. Normally a VP would have sort of like
10:2410 minutes, 24 secondsa narrowly tailored lane for policy, and instead, JD kind of gets to be everywhere because Trump is sort of everywhere, and he's just, you know, the younger version, you know, the software update.
10:3310 minutes, 33 secondsYou're saying that, if you will speak very loudly about the war… - He's not speaking loudly. He's not speaking loudly… Your country's in big trouble.
10:4210 minutes, 42 secondsCan I answer? Can I? No, no. You've done a lot of talking. - Publicly, he likes to play attack dogs. He's sort of like presenting himself as an enforcer.
10:5110 minutes, 51 secondsLike, hey, if you come after Trump, I'm going to let you know about it, and give you a stern talking to. And the president who's trying to save your country.
11:1511 minutes, 15 secondsBehind this rhetoric were campaign promises.
11:1811 minutes, 18 secondsTrump and Vance had run on a platform of "America First" and stopping "endless wars"… like the one in Iraq, which dragged on for almost a decade.
11:2911 minutes, 29 secondsAs a U. S. Marine, JD Vance had experienced it firsthand. Operation Iraqi Freedom has begun.
11:3811 minutes, 38 secondsIn 2003, JD Vance joined the U. S. Marine Corps after graduating from high school.
11:4411 minutes, 44 secondsHe said he believed the invasion of Iraq would transform the country from a dictatorship to a democracy. In 2005, he was deployed to Iraq as a public affairs Marine.
11:5611 minutes, 56 secondsHis job was not to fight, but to write articles about what was happening.
12:0512 minutes, 5 secondsYeah, you might want to close the door or something… JD was a soldier.
12:1112 minutes, 11 secondsAnd so, he was witnessing firsthand the difficulty, if not impossibility, of simply saying: Let's put American soldiers in this place and turn it into a liberal democracy.
12:2112 minutes, 21 secondsIt's just not going to happen.
12:2312 minutes, 23 secondsRegime change in that way is very difficult. You can overthrow a government, but you can't change a culture. You can't change a way of life overnight.
12:3212 minutes, 32 secondsI'm Patrick Deneen. I'm professor of political science at the University of Notre Dame.
12:3912 minutes, 39 secondsI know JD to be a person who cares deeply about the future of the country. He does want the good of this country.
12:4812 minutes, 48 secondsSo I think JD grew to be skeptical of kind of the liberal orthodoxy that governed foreign policy.
12:5512 minutes, 55 secondsThis is combined then, of course, with, at the same time, a concern with the way in which the American willingness to spend
13:0513 minutes, 5 secondsand devote massive material assistance all over the world.
13:1113 minutes, 11 secondsHe became very disillusioned while he was in Iraq about the war.
13:1613 minutes, 16 secondsAnd it sort of taught him that political elites are not always telling the truth, right?
13:2113 minutes, 21 secondsThat they lie and they generate media narratives to sell their preferred path. And you know, it sort of turned him
13:2913 minutes, 29 secondsagainst elites in general but also this neoconservative elite foreign policy that that you saw on display in the Bush administration.
13:4213 minutes, 42 secondsThe best hope for peace in our world is the expansion of freedom in all the world.
13:5213 minutes, 52 secondsRe elected and still at war in Iraq, George W. Bush continued to repeat his justification for the conflict.
13:5913 minutes, 59 secondsBut his quote unquote "Freedom Agenda" would be increasingly rejected by a new generation of conservatives…
14:0714 minutes, 7 secondsWell, the Freedom Agenda is this notion that human beings everywhere aspire to the same concept of individual liberty,
14:1414 minutes, 14 secondsand that by logical extension, it is the role of America to, if necessary, use foreign policy as one of many tools
14:2114 minutes, 21 secondsto essentially liberalize and bring freedom to people throughout the world.
14:2914 minutes, 29 secondsThe problem is that, among other things, this is not, in my opinion, a particularly conservative way of actually viewing foreign policy.
14:3714 minutes, 37 secondsIt's actually a very liberal view, like liberal properly construed. Thinking of liberalism as kind of a universalist ideology.
14:4714 minutes, 47 secondsI came out of the George W. Bush administration, broadly very supportive of the administration, its projects, and its goals.
14:5614 minutes, 56 secondsI admired and liked George W. Bush, and the fact that the Iraq war didn't go better was for me a source of pain, not a source of anger.
15:0515 minutes, 5 secondsBut I could see a lot of things going wrong.
15:0715 minutes, 7 secondsBoth the Iraq War was going wrong and the American economy was going wrong for a lot of people.
15:1415 minutes, 14 secondsBy 2008, JD Vance had left the Marines and was a college student in a crisis ridden America.
15:2015 minutes, 20 secondsAlongside mounting public fatigue with the Iraq War came the subprime mortgage crisis. The economy took a nosedive.
15:2815 minutes, 28 secondsRepublicans were accused of turning their backs on their constituents…
15:3215 minutes, 32 secondsand their unpopularity paved the way for the election of Democrat Barack Obama, the first Black president in the nation's history.
15:4115 minutes, 41 secondsHis election and new social policies sparked anger among some conservatives, and a fringe faction of Republicans… known as the "Tea Party" movement… gained traction.
15:5315 minutes, 53 secondsAt the time, JD Vance was in his mid-20s and a student at the Ohio State University: His education was funded by a program for veterans.
16:0316 minutes, 3 secondsAfter the election of 2008, I created a website to try to invite, especially younger people, to talk about what would a pragmatic governing Republican look like.
16:1316 minutes, 13 secondsIn retrospect, a waste of time because no one was interested. But it seemed, I thought in 2009, that this was the way to go. So, we had quite a lot of people who were working on the site.
16:2216 minutes, 22 secondsAnd one of them I heard from was JD Vance, who published under a different name.
16:2716 minutes, 27 secondsHe had finished his service in Iraq, he'd finished his studies in Ohio, and he was about to start at Yale Law School.
16:3416 minutes, 34 secondsHe was mostly writing about why he favored a more moderate kind of Republicanism.
16:4616 minutes, 46 secondsThey're about, as I say, about eight or 12 of these pieces. And they were thoughtful, they were considered, they were always very well written, and I was proud to publish them.
16:5616 minutes, 56 secondsIn the period from 2010 to 2017, everybody who met him recognized that they were meeting someone
17:0417 minutes, 4 secondswho would be a very important force in American life. And we all hope that that would be used for good.
17:1017 minutes, 10 secondsBut look, the story of all literature is that you don't get to be a great villain unless you have the capacity to be a great hero.
17:2917 minutes, 29 secondsIn 2010, Vance started attending Yale Law School, a prestigious Ivy League university in Connecticut.
17:4617 minutes, 46 secondsTechnically, I guess Yale is ranked number one. And a lot of Yale Law graduates go into politics.
17:5617 minutes, 56 secondsI was friends with him from, I guess, 2010 through 2020.
18:0218 minutes, 2 secondsI was openly queer and trans at that time, and I had gender affirming surgery. It was never an issue at all.
18:1118 minutes, 11 secondsIf anything he was just supportive and kind, asking me how she was doing.
18:1618 minutes, 16 secondsAnd it never crossed my mind that he had some kind of negative feeling towards LGBTQ people.
18:2618 minutes, 26 secondsThis broken culture wants to turn everybody… whether male or female…
18:3218 minutes, 32 secondsinto androgynous idiots who think the same, talk the same, and act the same. We actually think God made male and female for a purpose.
18:4118 minutes, 41 secondsIt's not just LGBTQ issues, right? There's infinite areas where he's done a 180.
18:5718 minutes, 57 secondsWe both grew up in working class communities, we both went to public school.
19:0119 minutes, 1 secondNeither of us came from kind of elite backgrounds, and so we had that in common, which honestly is not the norm at Yale Law School.
19:0719 minutes, 7 secondsMost people are from the coast and have parents who are lawyers or doctors. That was true for Vance's future wife, Usha.
19:1619 minutes, 16 secondsShe grew up in California, raised by Indian immigrant parents who were both accomplished professors. She would help Vance find his footing in this new world.
19:2819 minutes, 28 secondsI think he found Yale to be both exciting, intellectually stimulating, deeply and profoundly formative.
19:3619 minutes, 36 secondsHe also met his wife at Yale.
19:3919 minutes, 39 secondsBut I think he also found it to be a place that was utterly strange to him.
19:4419 minutes, 44 secondsAnd he recognized, and I think that maybe was one of the first times he realized how much he was a product of the class he came from, the upbringing he had.
19:5919 minutes, 59 secondsHe worked harder than probably a lot of his classmates to get there, right? But he also faced some adversity in that respect.
20:0820 minutes, 8 secondsI mean, I know in our first year, there was a professor who made a comment that he felt that people who went to state schools weren't
20:1520 minutes, 15 secondsas well prepared to handle the rigors of Yale Law school, and he made a point of proving that professor wrong.
20:2620 minutes, 26 secondsBut there was a lot of ego tied up in it, and I think we see that ego on display today.
20:3720 minutes, 37 secondsVance's experiences at Yale seemed to sour his view on higher education and fuel his later convictions.
20:4920 minutes, 49 secondsWhat we want to do in this movement and in this country, I think, are fundamentally dependent on going through a set of very hostile institutions, specifically the universities
20:5820 minutes, 58 secondswhich control the knowledge in our society, which control what we call truth and what we call falsity.
21:0421 minutes, 4 secondsThe left wing indoctrination in our society, it starts somewhere. You know, it's like a cancer.
21:1021 minutes, 10 secondsUniversities are the place where the tumor is located and it's spreading all over our society.
21:1721 minutes, 17 secondsVance's scathing views on universities started taking shape while he was still at Yale.
21:2221 minutes, 22 secondsThere, at a talk in 2011, he encountered Peter Thiel: a billionaire, a leading figure in Silicon Valley, and a Christian.
21:3121 minutes, 31 secondsThiel made his fortune in the tech industry by co founding PayPal, where he worked with Elon Musk. He also went on to become one of Facebook's first investors.
21:4121 minutes, 41 secondsSoon, Thiel became Vance's mentor.
21:4421 minutes, 44 secondsVance basically says, in his recollection of events, that Thiel's speech made him realize: He didn't want to be a lawyer, he didn't want to pursue law school.
21:5221 minutes, 52 secondsHe's probably the single most important person in JD Vance's life, after maybe his wife and his parents.
21:5821 minutes, 58 secondsThiel is a brilliant man. And a very astute man, mentally well ordered man.
22:0722 minutes, 7 secondsHe's not like Elon Musk, who just seems half crazy part of the time. You could actually unilaterally change the world without having…
22:1422 minutes, 14 secondsPeter Thiel is a controversial figure who has wielded significant influence on right wing politics in the last decade.
22:2122 minutes, 21 secondsTechnology is this incredible alternative to politics.
22:2622 minutes, 26 secondsAnd you know there are a number of different technologies we can outline, but the task in this world where politics has become so broken and so dysfunctional is to find a way to escape from it.
22:3722 minutes, 37 secondsIt's not a way to fix it: It is a way to escape.
22:4022 minutes, 40 secondsThiel has a complicated relationship with democracy. He's famously said that freedom and democracy are no longer compatible.
22:4722 minutes, 47 secondsThe idea being if you achieve full economic democracy, you lose economic freedom for certain people, especially rich people.
22:5722 minutes, 57 secondsAnd so that the solution to that is to restrain democracy in the service of freedom.
23:0223 minutes, 2 secondsHe sees these two things as intention, and he opts in favor of freedom rather than democracy.
23:0823 minutes, 8 secondsAnd one of the things that has made Thiel so successful is that he has this great eye for talent.
23:1323 minutes, 13 secondsAnd he recognized JD Vance early, in the same way that others did, as someone who really had great potential.
23:3223 minutes, 32 secondsIn 2013, JD Vance graduated from Yale Law School and moved to Silicon Valley. Peter Thiel mentored him as a venture capital investor.
23:4123 minutes, 41 secondsVance had a knack for the business and started making serious money.
23:4623 minutes, 46 secondsFor Vance, Thiel was a kind of father figure and guided him in his Christian faith.
23:5123 minutes, 51 secondsAll the while, Vance started reflecting more on his personal history… and putting pen to paper.
24:0424 minutes, 4 secondsAnd we're back with JD Vance.
24:0524 minutes, 5 secondsHe's the author of the excellent book, "Hillbilly Elegy." A memoir of a family and culture in crisis.
24:1124 minutes, 11 secondsDid you have any idea when you wrote this book that it would be a huge bestseller? "Hillbilly Elegy." No I didn't. I definitely didn't expect it to have quite the response that it's had.
24:2324 minutes, 23 secondsI saw the book before it was a book. One of the things we had talked about was that Vance wanted to do a book
24:3024 minutes, 30 secondsabout creative, conservative solutions to the problems of rural poverty.
24:3624 minutes, 36 secondsAnd so, he wrote an outline and took it to an editor named Eric Nelson at HarperCollins.
24:4224 minutes, 42 secondsAnd he said to him: OK, I like this idea, but before you do it, I want you to write a short introduction about your own life.
24:5024 minutes, 50 secondsAnd JD Vance wrote a short outline about his own life, and Eric Nelson said: Fine, this is our book, this we throw out.
24:5724 minutes, 57 secondsYou know when I read this book, which I read over my husband's shoulder as an e book on a plane…
25:0225 minutes, 2 secondsIt turned Vance himself into a kind of commentator who the mainstream media brought in to explain the Trump phenomenon primarily to left leaning and liberal voters.
25:1325 minutes, 13 secondsSo, he was on talk shows, on news channels, he was writing for outlets.
25:1825 minutes, 18 secondsWell, I didn't expect it to be so politically relevant and timely in that way, but I definitely knew that there were very significant problems that would express themselves in our politics eventually…
25:2825 minutes, 28 secondsJD was just kind of a nice, fresh face to come on the sort of talk show circuit and kind of be able to speak both languages, like speak
25:3825 minutes, 38 secondsthe language of liberal coastal elite America, but also be able to teach them a little something about what it's like to grow up in a more neglected post industrial town.
25:4725 minutes, 47 secondsAnd he was kind of like a Sherpa for liberal America to like: Come with me and understand why these people are so pissed off.
25:5725 minutes, 57 secondsYou can't disconnect the fact that Trump was a very successful candidate…
26:0026 minutesWhen asked about Trump around the 2016 election, Vance did not mince his words.
26:0626 minutes, 6 secondsSome people who voted for Trump were racist, and they voted for him for racist reasons.
26:1126 minutes, 11 secondsTrump is a really bad candidate and frankly I think a really bad person.
26:1526 minutes, 15 secondsJD Vance at the time to me… and publicly… described Donald Trump as morally reprehensible as potentially America's Hitler.
26:2426 minutes, 24 secondsThese are not ambiguous terms. His opinions were very, very clear.
26:2926 minutes, 29 seconds"He's just a bad man, a morally reprehensible human being." "I'm obviously outraged at Trump's rhetoric." "I worry most of all about how welcome
26:3826 minutes, 38 secondsMuslim citizens feel in their own country." And: "There has always been demagogues willing to exploit people who believe crazy s**t."
26:4826 minutes, 48 secondsPublicly, in the pages of The Atlantic, he said that Donald Trump was to politics what heroin was to the addict's body: Something that promised an end to pain but in fact only created your problems, only intensified your problems.
26:5926 minutes, 59 secondsAnd for Vance, coming from where he came from, and with his own family history of addiction, the heroin analogy was not a glib one. It was not just words.
27:0727 minutes, 7 secondsIt was the deepest pain of his life.
27:1127 minutes, 11 secondsAnd he said that Trump is heroin for the kind of people who voted for him.
27:1827 minutes, 18 secondsWell, I read "Hillbilly Elegy" right when it came out, and I found it so unbelievably moving to the point where it made me weep.
27:2927 minutes, 29 secondsAnd I have never cried at a book before.
27:3327 minutes, 33 secondsIt's astounding that this young man at that point had already accomplished what he had in life: had been
27:4127 minutes, 41 secondsa successful United States Marine, had gone to Yale Law School, had been a real success in business… at that point, not yet into politics…
27:4927 minutes, 49 secondswas a bit of a media celebrity.
27:5127 minutes, 51 secondsThat he had accomplished all of that, given this incredibly harsh upbringing that he had to endure.
27:5927 minutes, 59 secondsMy name is Steve Cortes, and I was a spokesman and media strategist for the Vance 2022 Senate campaign….
28:0828 minutes, 8 secondsgreat, OK. Well, I'm used to being on camera. Yeah.
28:1428 minutes, 14 secondsI knew that if JD was going to make a run, that he would need help and I'm going to be part of that team. So, I contacted JD, you know on my own volition: I wasn't recruited or anything
28:2428 minutes, 24 secondslike that. And I told him: I know you're going to run for office. He said: I'm not running. I said: Yes, you are. And I said: And when you do, I want to help you.
28:3528 minutes, 35 seconds2022 was a midterm election year.
28:3928 minutes, 39 secondsTwo years prior, the Democrats had retaken the White House with Joe Biden and won razor thin control of the Senate.
28:4628 minutes, 46 secondsRepublicans wanted to take back power. We need a new politics for a new generation. The old way of doing things ain't working.
28:5828 minutes, 58 secondsWe're going to go after the multinational companies and the government leaders who are shipping our jobs overseas and making it harder for business to prosper.
29:0729 minutes, 7 secondsBecause the leaders this country, who have plundered it, have decided they're going to reward their friends with special tax breaks and not the companies right here in Middletown, Ohio. That stops now.
29:1929 minutes, 19 secondsThis road was not easy… It was definitely uphill. JD Vance!
29:2729 minutes, 27 secondsThis was a crowded primary of serious candidates, all of whom had the resumes, had the credentials, the name ID to be a United States senator.
29:3829 minutes, 38 secondsThe Ohio primaries, JD Vance.
29:4529 minutes, 45 secondsThat's what I want this campaign to be about. That's why I'm doing it. So, it was an intense competition.
29:5029 minutes, 50 secondsAnd in that Republican primary, the main lane of attack against JD Vance, from his rivals, was that he was anti Trump.
30:0730 minutes, 7 secondsYou're not going to be able to win a primary almost anywhere in the country as a Republican if you don't whole hog support Donald Trump.
30:1530 minutes, 15 secondsFor many Republican hopefuls in Ohio, aligning with MAGA was the key to success.
30:2430 minutes, 24 secondsDonald Trump won Ohio in the presidential election in 2016. In 2020, he won the state again.
30:3830 minutes, 38 secondsVance began to say things that were different from what he'd said before.
30:4330 minutes, 43 secondsAnd then, the nature of the human being is that he began to think those things.
30:4830 minutes, 48 secondsMaybe there's some difference between what he says and what he thinks, but not as much as you might imagine, because it's not human nature to have a big gap between what we say and what we think.
30:5630 minutes, 56 secondsHe started expressing very different views than I had previously heard from him, whether it was on Donald Trump or LGBT rights.
31:1131 minutes, 11 secondsHe also grew the beard, and a lot of things changed.
31:2031 minutes, 20 secondsHe was really, you know, trying to sound like Trump on immigration, on bashing whatever, COVID related things were happening,
31:3031 minutes, 30 secondsbeing very isolationist with international affairs, being very pro tariff trade protectionism.
31:3831 minutes, 38 secondsAre you a racist? Do you hate Mexicans? The media calls us racist for wanting to build Trump's wall. Joe Biden's open border is killing Ohioans.
31:4831 minutes, 48 secondsI was raised on this street, where my grandma taught me that in America, kids can dream big. But we had something then that Ohio kids don't have today.
31:5831 minutes, 58 secondsSafety.
31:5831 minutes, 58 secondsIn a span of two years you've gone from thinking that Trump is a morally reprehensible
32:0532 minutes, 5 secondshuman being who is leading, you know, a dangerous cult of personality to saying that he's the greatest president
32:1432 minutes, 14 secondsof your lifetime and people take that seriously. - You've admitted you've changed your mind on Donald Trump, but in the past you've said, quote, "I'm a never Trump guy." I've got to tip my hat to him on that one.
32:2532 minutes, 25 secondsI did change my mind about Donald Trump. He was a great president.
32:2832 minutes, 28 secondsAnd I think at the end of the day, one of the things this race presents is an opportunity.
32:3232 minutes, 32 secondsWho actually agrees with Trump on the core issues of trade, of immigration?
32:3532 minutes, 35 secondsWho's willing to fight for an America first foreign policy? I think that's clearly me. He is a chameleon... and I think ultimately a pretty talented politician.
32:5932 minutes, 59 secondsSo, I was already working for JD Vance as his media spokesman and adviser. I went down to Florida to Mar a Lago to see President Trump.
33:0633 minutes, 6 secondsAnd I asked him for the endorsement of JD Vance. He was definitely interested.
33:1133 minutes, 11 secondsHe was very intrigued with JD, very impressed with the way he was campaigning. But he was also concerned about his anti Trump past, his past statements, of course.
33:2033 minutes, 20 secondsSo, he didn't so much say "no" as "possibly," or you know, "perhaps."
33:2833 minutes, 28 secondsAnd I told him that I had spent countless hours with JD Vance, which I did campaigning. A lot of it driving in the car around Ohio.
33:3633 minutes, 36 secondsThis isn't glamorous stuff, but in those long car rides, you really get to know somebody.
33:4033 minutes, 40 secondsAnd that's what I told President Trump that I knew the heart and mind of this guy.
33:4433 minutes, 44 secondsI also told him, by the way, and I think this is important, that he'd also had not just a political conversion, but a very sincere spiritual conversion. He had become Catholic and had become ardently Catholic.
33:5633 minutes, 56 secondsAnd I think those two conversions are absolutely related. And I told President Trump was unaware of that aspect.
34:0134 minutes, 1 secondSo, I think that was helpful in trying to convince President Trump that something deep was going on and that this political conversion was part of something bigger.
34:1634 minutes, 16 secondsJD was formally received in a ritual way into the Catholic Church and given his first communion.
34:2234 minutes, 22 secondsIt's him with his wife and little boy. And I love this. It's very dramatic.
34:3434 minutes, 34 secondsHe put on a white robe of someone who was becoming Catholic. I felt this inner welling up of emotion and happiness for him.
34:4434 minutes, 44 secondsAnd I, as someone who had converted as an adult to Catholicism, I knew what a big moment this was for him.
34:5434 minutes, 54 secondsIf you're a serious Catholic, then you have to look to the teachings of the church as authority.
35:0135 minutes, 1 secondThey bind you, they tell you what you can and can't do. They give you a certain way of looking at the world. I knew his life would completely change from that point on.
35:1635 minutes, 16 secondsMy name is Rod Dreher.
35:1735 minutes, 17 secondsI'm an American writer and journalist and a friend of JD Vance.
35:2735 minutes, 27 secondsFrom now on, I'm following Jesus Christ. He is my Lord and He is my Savior.
35:3535 minutes, 35 secondsIf you come to Jesus, you're going to have to change your whole way of living.
35:4535 minutes, 45 secondsJD and I, we first met in 2016.
35:4935 minutes, 49 secondsHe wrote me to say that he's been thinking a lot about becoming Catholic and wanted my help: What should I read? Who should I talk to?
35:5735 minutes, 57 secondsHe reached out to many people to talk about what it meant to be a Catholic, what it meant politically to be a Catholic, what it meant theologically to be a Catholic.
36:0636 minutes, 6 secondsHis real interest with me was to talk about Catholic social teaching, the relationship of the faith and questions such as capitalism, socialism, how the political order should reflect Catholic beliefs.
36:2036 minutes, 20 secondsSo he, at that time, was trying to make sense of how he could think about social and political matters through a Catholic lens.
36:3236 minutes, 32 secondsAnd I knew that if he went into politics as he was considering that this would require him as a serious Catholic
36:4136 minutes, 41 secondsto take positions that people in his social class, the professional class, would not like. For example, he would have to be against abortion rights.
36:5236 minutes, 52 secondsWe march to protect the unborn.
36:5536 minutes, 55 secondsWe march to proclaim and live out the sacred truth that every single child is a miracle and a gift from God.
37:0837 minutes, 8 secondsIt changed, you know, more than just his thoughts about the eternal. It changed his thoughts, of course, as it must if it's a real faith: It changes your worldview about the temporal world, including politics.
37:1937 minutes, 19 secondsAnd part of that, I think, was his embrace of the populist nationalist cause.
37:2437 minutes, 24 secondsAnd if you look, you know, put JD aside, a lot of the leaders of this movement were Catholic and seriously Catholic. Not just nominally or culturally Catholic.
37:3437 minutes, 34 secondsIn a country where Protestants have yielded significant power, the shift to Catholicism upends the status quo.
37:4437 minutes, 44 secondsI had a Trump adviser say something that throws me up when he said it, which was that if you look at the last Trump White House the first time around,
37:5237 minutes, 52 secondsit was a lot of evangelical Christians who were in in a lot of positions of authority in there. And he's like: You look at the West Wing now, they're all Catholics.
38:0138 minutes, 1 secondNow they're not like literally all Catholics, but it is a major shift.
38:1038 minutes, 10 secondsThis new generation of Catholics in politics talks about centering faith in their platforms, crafting policies that affect many aspects of public life.
38:3338 minutes, 33 secondsThey have different visions of what kind of society to build in the aftermath of liberalism:
38:4138 minutes, 41 secondsLet's reject wokeism, let's reject the sexual revolution, let's reject the progressive racial politics of the past 20 years, and let's return to a kind of social conservatism.
38:5638 minutes, 56 secondsIn 2022, with his sights set on returning to the White House, Donald Trump seized this momentum.
39:0639 minutes, 6 secondsThere is no mountain we cannot climb because we are Americans and Americans kneel to God and to God alone.
39:2039 minutes, 20 secondsThrough Vance's conversion to Catholicism and his commitment to "post liberal" values,
39:2739 minutes, 27 secondshe became a strategic choice for Trump to capture a certain segment of the voting population.
39:4439 minutes, 44 secondsThis is a great person who I've really gotten to know.
39:4839 minutes, 48 secondsYeah, he said some bad things about me, but that was before he knew me and then he fell in love.
39:5439 minutes, 54 secondsThe term that my sources use, which is the "loyal convert," that Trump always loves a loyal convert. And that once
40:0240 minutes, 2 secondsyou've crossed that Rubicon and you've kind of swallowed that pill of like negating the things you believed and said about him before,
40:1140 minutes, 11 secondsyou're a great asset at that point. Because like: You're not going to go back… you're going to do that again? No.
40:1740 minutes, 17 secondsIt's kind of like a literal burning of the bridges, like there is no turn back for JD. God bless you.
40:2640 minutes, 26 secondsHere, CBS News projects that in the state of Ohio, JD Vance will be the next Republican senator from the state of Ohio.
40:3740 minutes, 37 secondsA victory for Republicans, a victory for them.
40:4540 minutes, 45 secondsI will never forget the great people of Ohio. Thank you for this honor to serve you. I'll fight for you every day. God bless you guys and thank you.
40:5440 minutes, 54 secondsWe are smoking cigars out of the deck in Columbus, Ohio.
40:5740 minutes, 57 secondsHe is now senator elect. And I said to him: JD, this was incredible. I said: But guess what? I said: My job's not done.
41:0641 minutes, 6 secondsHe said: What are you talking about? I said: You're going to be the president of the United States. He said: Cortes, blank, blank, blank, blank, off.
41:1441 minutes, 14 secondsI said: You are going to be the president of the United States. I said: And I'm going to help you.
41:2041 minutes, 20 secondsDo you solemnly swear that you will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all..
41:2541 minutes, 25 secondsIn January 2023, JD Vance was sworn in as senator by Kamala Harris, Joe Biden's Vice President. - S o help you God.
41:3441 minutes, 34 seconds- I do. - Congratulations, senators.
41:4841 minutes, 48 secondsWith the 2022 midterms barely in the rearview mirror, Republicans started looking towards 2024.
41:5541 minutes, 55 secondsThe race for the White House was already beginning.
41:5941 minutes, 59 secondsVance had powerful allies who supported him for the vice presidency with their money, power, and influence.
42:0542 minutes, 5 secondsAmong them: Peter Thiel, who gave over 10 million dollars to fuel Vance's Senate campaign. Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, a powerful pundit on the right.
42:1542 minutes, 15 secondsCharlie Kirk, an important voice in the MAGA youth movement. And Donald Trump Jr.
42:2342 minutes, 23 secondsDon Jr. made the case to his father just as he had in the Senate campaign previously.
42:2842 minutes, 28 secondsHe made the case to his father that JD Vance was the right man, that he'll be a fantastic vice president, he'll be an able co pilot.
42:3542 minutes, 35 secondsAnd the pitch he made, which has been reported, is that Vance was the person who could continue on Trump's legacy.
42:4342 minutes, 43 secondsThat with a figure like Vance, Trump wasn't the end of the project. That this revolution could be carried on into the future.
42:5642 minutes, 56 secondsPlease raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, James David Vance, do solemnly swear.
43:0643 minutes, 6 secondsI, James David Vance, do solemnly swearswear...
43:0943 minutes, 9 secondsWith his hand on the bible, standing beside Donald Trump, his mother, his wife, Usha, and their three children, JD Vance was officially sworn in as Vice President of the United States of America.
43:2643 minutes, 26 seconds- So help me God. - So help me God. Congratulations, Mr. Vice President.
43:3943 minutes, 39 secondsTrump's second term began, with a more radical agenda than his first. He'd vowed to crack down on immigration.
43:4843 minutes, 48 secondsA promise that, on its face, seemed to clash with JD Vance's Catholic faith.
43:5343 minutes, 53 secondsI really do think that social solidarity is destroyed when you have too much migration too quickly. And so that's not because I hate the migrants,
44:0144 minutes, 1 secondor I'm motivated by grievance. That's because I'm trying to preserve something in my own country where we are a unified nation. And I don't think that can happen if you have too much immigration too quickly.
44:1344 minutes, 13 secondsTrump's rallying call carried into his second term: "America first," especially when it came to international politics.
44:2344 minutes, 23 secondsVance did not want the United States to keep playing the role of the world's policeman.
44:3144 minutes, 31 secondsThe administration repeatedly called decade long alliances into question, toying with the idea of withdrawing from NATO.
44:4044 minutes, 40 secondsIn Vance's view, nations must take care of their own interests, a conviction he'd held for years. There's a funny story here.
44:5044 minutes, 50 secondsBack in 2024, when he was only an American senator… Trump had not chosen him yet… JD went to the Munich Security Conference.
44:5944 minutes, 59 secondsWe have JD Vance, a senator from Ohio of the United States of America.
45:0745 minutes, 7 secondsAnd while he was there, he texted me: Do you want to come to Munich and have dinner with me? I said: Yeah, that'd be great!
45:1445 minutes, 14 secondsBut aren't you at the security conference?
45:1745 minutes, 17 secondsAnd he told me it was a miserable experience because none of the security elites would talk to him because of his view on Ukraine.
45:2645 minutes, 26 secondsHe was against NATO policy for Ukraine. He thought it was a bad idea. How would it look at European security?
45:3245 minutes, 32 secondsWould there be a withdrawal from NATO? Would there be a pull out, an abandonment of Ukraine?
45:4045 minutes, 40 secondsSo are European fears justified? They completely ignored him. They were snobs.
45:4645 minutes, 46 secondsYou could imagine how a hillbilly, as he is, took that.
45:5245 minutes, 52 secondsSo, I flew there, we had dinner, and he said: I'd rather have dinner with a friend than with these a**holes.
45:5845 minutes, 58 secondsAnd the next day, Sunday, he went to mass, I went to the Orthodox Liturgy. Then we met at an ordinary beer hall.
46:0646 minutes, 6 secondsAnd I have a photo of him.
46:0946 minutes, 9 secondsThe senator sitting there wearing a sweatshirt from his football team Ohio State and a cap, ordinary American.
46:1646 minutes, 16 secondsOne year later, he returned to the Munich Security Conference as Vice President of the United States and faced all of these a**holes and gave that speech.
46:2646 minutes, 26 secondsThe threat that I worry the most about, vis a vis Europe, is the threat from within. I believe there is nothing more urgent than mass migration.
46:3746 minutes, 37 secondsWhen he gave that speech, my smartphone started buzzing like crazy. All of my conservative European friends, all the way
46:4546 minutes, 45 secondsfrom Bucharest to Paris to London, were texting saying: Yes, finally somebody said.
46:5546 minutes, 55 secondsFor him and for many people on the European far right fit into a vision of a pan European far right movement. In that sense, I think
47:0347 minutes, 3 secondsVance is really not a nationalist. That he feels more at home with the Alternative for Germany.
47:1247 minutes, 12 secondsHe feels more at home with the far right of the British right wing, feels more at home with the French right than he does with American Democrats
47:2047 minutes, 20 secondsand as you would expect a nationalist to say: Look, I disagree with this person, but he's from my nation.
47:2647 minutes, 26 secondsVance is very clear: I have more in common with someone from the Alternative for Germany than I do with an American who disagrees with me.
47:3347 minutes, 33 secondsA lot of these nationalist populist parties prioritize the nation states and not universalism that are deeply
47:4047 minutes, 40 secondsEuro skeptical for that very reason there, that have a more sober view of foreign policy, more sober view of trade relations
47:4847 minutes, 48 secondsthere, not kind of necessarily free trade absolutists, a little bit more nationalist than the way of thinking on trade there.
48:1348 minutes, 13 secondsI appreciate our friendship both between our nations but also between us personally and certainly the President sends his best regards to you but to the people of Italy.
48:2348 minutes, 23 secondsWhat JD is tapping into, this sense of populism and anger at the post war liberal settlement, it's happening both in America and in Europe and in the UK.
48:3548 minutes, 35 secondsThe ordinary people feel shut out of the system. Brussels is so high handed.
48:4248 minutes, 42 secondsThe elites are completely out of touch in all of these European countries.
48:5148 minutes, 51 secondsAmerica has just gone through the same thing that Europe is going through right now.
48:5548 minutes, 55 secondsThere has been an effort by the ruling class in our country and in Europe to shut down political debate.
49:1149 minutes, 11 secondsWhich I fear, and I think JD was right about this, I fear in many ways Europe is no longer actually devoted to democracy.
49:1849 minutes, 18 secondsIt fears democracy. It fears the "demos." And there are reasons to fear
49:2549 minutes, 25 secondsthe demos. The demos is not the source of our wisdom, and we know from European history the demos has its dangers.
49:3249 minutes, 32 secondsBut if you shut it down, you actually invite the thing that you fear.
49:3849 minutes, 38 secondsYou invite the kind of reaction that now becomes violent and extreme and potentially real and great, great danger to the future of the nations.
50:0050 minutesSeptember 10th, 2025: Charlie Kirk, founder of the right wing youth organization, Turning Point USA, was assassinated while speaking on a college campus.
50:1450 minutes, 14 secondsJD Vance and Kirk had been friends for many years.
50:2050 minutes, 20 secondsKirk had championed Vance, helping pave the way for him to the White House.
50:2650 minutes, 26 secondsIn the wake of Kirk's killing, Vance channeled his anger and appealed directly to Kirk's young followers.
50:3850 minutes, 38 secondsOh my God. Go… run, run! We are here live at Utah Valley University.
50:4550 minutes, 45 secondsThere's been a shooting at the Charlie Kirk event, the TP USA event. Somebody just fired a firearm.
50:5250 minutes, 52 secondsBefore the investigation could even get underway, the Trump administration attributed Kirk's killing to the "radical left."
51:0151 minutes, 1 secondAfter the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Vance organized a special program of Charlie Kirk's podcast.
51:0851 minutes, 8 secondsAnd he sat in Charlie Kirk's chair and moderated the program.
51:1151 minutes, 11 secondsThis is "The Charlie Kirk Show." Hey everybody. JD Vance here, live from my office in the White House complex and filling in for somebody
51:2151 minutes, 21 secondswho cannot be filled in for, but I'm going to try to do my best, my dear friend, the great Charlie Kirk.
51:2751 minutes, 27 secondsI think that we'll look back on that visual of JD and the Charlie Kirk couch as like a pretty important moment for him, getting much more entrenched power and popularity with Republicans.
51:3851 minutes, 38 secondsI was very honored a couple of days ago on September the 11th, 2025, to fly out to Utah,
51:4551 minutes, 45 secondswhere Charlie was shot and killed, to be able to take Charlie's remains from Utah to Arizona.
51:5451 minutes, 54 secondsHaving to watch his friend shot in the neck and bleed out and bury him, and to comfort his widow… Charlie Kirk's widow… I think that gave JD a deep heart of steel.
52:0652 minutes, 6 secondsBecause Charlie was a close friend of his, and Charlie was also a top advocate with Donald Trump to have him choose JD.
52:1752 minutes, 17 secondsAnd they killed him. They killed his friend in broad daylight.
52:2152 minutes, 21 secondsYou know, I think Charlie Kirk's death and assassination can only make JD, I think, more inclined for authoritarian tendencies.
52:3352 minutes, 33 secondsPeople on the left are much likelier to defend and celebrate political violence.
52:3952 minutes, 39 secondsNormally, the classic instinct of the politician, is to say: This is tragic, but extend the olive branch. We have to come together. And JD is kinda like, f**k that s**t.
52:4952 minutes, 49 secondsThere is no unity with the people who celebrate Charlie Kirk's assassination.
52:5452 minutes, 54 secondsAnd there is no unity with the people who fund these articles, who pay the salaries of these terrorist sympathizers,
53:0153 minutes, 1 secondwho argue that Charlie Kirk, a loving husband and father, deserved a shot to the neck.
53:0953 minutes, 9 secondsJD has confessed himself that he has a very, very hot temper.
53:1453 minutes, 14 secondsAnd so, you know, I pray as his friend and as his brother
53:1953 minutes, 19 secondsin Christ, I pray that he keeps his reason, keeps his compassion, that he does the right thing, that he acts strongly.
53:2953 minutes, 29 secondsWe're not pacifists as Christians.
53:3353 minutes, 33 secondsWe're called to defend, especially if you're a leader, we're called to defend the weak and stand up against evil, but we have to do it in an intelligent way.
53:4353 minutes, 43 secondsBecause Charlie believed that we were all children of God, he treated everyone with grace. And that is perhaps the enduring legacy of Charlie Kirk.
53:5353 minutes, 53 secondsYou know, I was telling somebody backstage that I always felt a little uncomfortable talking
54:0154 minutes, 1 secondabout my faith in public as much as I loved the Lord and as much as it was an important part of my life.
54:0854 minutes, 8 secondsI have talked more about Jesus Christ in the past two weeks than I have my entire time in public life.
54:2254 minutes, 22 secondsThis terrible tragedy was also an opportunity, a political opportunity for JD Vance, and he used that opportunity to do two things.
54:3154 minutes, 31 secondsThe first was to stoke anger inside the country, because anger is a resource for his kind of politics.
54:3754 minutes, 37 secondsAnd the second was to position himself as the true heir to the far right side of the spectrum. Because the far right has often had doubts about JD Vance.
54:4854 minutes, 48 secondsIs he really one of us or is he just pretending? Is he using us?
54:5254 minutes, 52 secondsAnd this terrible crime gave him an opportunity to insist, I am a true leader,
54:5954 minutes, 59 secondsI am of you, I am one of you, I am your leader, I am your next leader. And with the presidential election of 2028 impending, that's a powerful statement.
55:1155 minutes, 11 secondsThank you. Could JD Vance be the 48th president, or the 49th president, or the 50th president?
55:2155 minutes, 21 secondsLike, yeah. Even if he doesn't win the first time, I think he can be president one day.
55:2655 minutes, 26 secondsThere's a very, very real case to be made that JD Vance is the most logical inheritor of MAGA, you know,
55:3355 minutes, 33 secondscertainly the logical successor, the heir to the throne, so to speak, there.
55:3955 minutes, 39 secondsDo you agree that the heir apparent to MAGA is JD Vance? Well, I think most likely, in all fairness, he's the vice president.
55:4855 minutes, 48 secondsSo, it's too early obviously to talk about it, but certainly he's doing a great job, and he would be probably favorite at this point.
55:5755 minutes, 57 secondsHe's kind of gotten like the biggest advantage you could hope for: Trump sort of pre endorsed him. JD is popular.
56:0556 minutes, 5 secondsHe's young, he's got a beautiful family and because he came from such a difficult background and achieved the American dream, I think he could be an icon for people.
56:1856 minutes, 18 secondsBut if the economy doesn't turn around, and if he doesn't master the threat from the far right then he doesn't have a chance.
56:2756 minutes, 27 secondsResearch shows the Republican Party has become far more conservative.
56:3156 minutes, 31 secondsSo much so that even a right wing hardliner like Vance is presented by some as moderate… especially in comparison to those
56:3956 minutes, 39 secondsin the white supremacist fringe like Nick Fuentes: And now they're all in favor of a fat race mixer who's married
56:4756 minutes, 47 secondsto a j**t who named his son Vivek, who was mentored by a Jewish neocon and a gay thad, Peter Thiel, and that's your guy?
57:0057 minutesJD Is a former U. S. Marine and a hillbilly. The idea that his beloved wife could be attacked like that, it just…
57:0857 minutes, 8 secondsYou can see how angry he gets. Here's the problem.
57:1257 minutes, 12 secondsHere in Washington DC, approximately 30 to 40 percent of the young Republican conservative staffers
57:2057 minutes, 20 secondsin congressional offices, in the administration, and in the think tanks follow Nick Fuentes. And JD is going to have to figure out how to deal with that.
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