JD Vance’s positions and policies, explained

Just a few days ago, the general public didn’t really know too much about Ohio senator JD (James David) Vance.

Sure, he wrote a best selling book called Hillbilly Elegy in 2016, but he was by no means a household name. That changed completely recently when the Republican nominee for president Donald Trump picked him to be a running mate. Now that he’s going to be a heartbeat away from the possibility of another Trump presidency, let’s take a closer look at some of his policies and positions.

Vance has had a fairly unorthodox path to his current position. He was born in 1984 in Middletown, Ohio and grew up in a household marred with drug abuse and rampant poverty. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 2003, where he worked in the public affairs division, showcasing his obvious talent for writing and communication.

He would eventually attend Ohio State university on the G.I. bill, where he dipped his toe into politics as an aide for then Republican state senator Bob Schuler. After that, he attended Yale Law School. By 2016, he published his memoir, which became a bestseller.

Part of the irony of Vance’s journey is the fact that he was so vehemently against Trump in 2016. During that year’s election, he said he vacillated between thinking Trump was a “cynical a–hole like Nixon who wouldn’t be that bad (and might even prove useful) or that he’s America’s Hitler.”

He said other things too: that he was a “never-Trump guy” and he tweeted (and later deleted) that Trump was an “idiot” and a “reprehensible person.” When he decided he was going to run for senate, however, that tune changed. He went on Fox News in 2021 and said that he regretted “being wrong” about Trump and that he was “a good president.”

That was enough to coast off Trump’s popularity, and along with the former president’s endorsement, he was sworn into the U.S. Senate on January 3 of 2023. Trump announced him as a running mate on July 15.

“After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator JD Vance of the Great State of Ohio,” Trump said on Truth Social.

Where does Vance stand on the issues?

The truth of the matter is that Vance brings a bit of an intellectual slant to the top of the Republican party. He is well-spoken and obviously very bright, and some of his positions on things are a bit more nuanced than Trump’s sledgehammer approach.

It’s also important to remember that some of these positions will change and soften as we get closer and closer to November.

Let’s start with his beliefs. Per the New Statesman, Vance believes that the government is being controlled by elites who need to be “dismantled” from the inside, a movement called The Dark Enlightenment.

When it comes to abortion, he has said he opposes it and has supported a ban after 15 weeks, but he also said the issue should be decided by the states. He’s also supported exemptions for rape, incest and the safety of a woman’s life.

When it comes to same-sex marriage, Vance said he opposes it but also that it’s not a huge issue and he’s not “looking to try to take people’s families and rip them apart.” He’s openly opposed gender-affirming care, calling it “gruesome, irreversible operations” on children.

His views on immigration are tied to his views on the opioid epidemic, and he believes that the porous border needs to be tightened up because it’s “orphaning an entire generation of kids.” He believes immigration drives down wages for everyday Americans and strains social security. He also opposes amnesty for immigrants and his anti immigration stances are some of the strongest of any politician. Last year, he introduced a bill to make English the country’s official language.

As for foreign policy, he’s not blatantly said the United States should pull out of NATO but he does think there should be more countries spending their own money for security and that America should be focusing more on China. He’s openly supported Israel during the Gaza conflict and has criticized President Joe Biden for not giving the country the weapons it supposedly needs.

He’s also openly shared that Ukraine should understand that it’s “going to have to cede some territory to the Russians” if it realistically wants peace. He’s a supporter of antitrust laws and thinks big companies like Meta and Google should be broken up. He supports collective bargaining as well.

Finally, he’s downplayed the effects of climate change, and said the solution to the climate crisis is more fossil fuels. He’s also supported a $7,500 tax credit for gas powered cars, which would intentionally undermine the movement to create more electric vehicles.

To summarize, he’s demonstrated to be in line with the more right-wing side of his party as opposed to being a moderate, but again, we’re still early in the election cycle and some positions are definitely going to change.