Trump, Vance, and Far-Right Political Extremism
JD Vance fits right in with the current white Christian nationalist movement in the Republican Party
At the Republican National Convention on Tuesday, former president Donald Trump selected Ohio Senator JD Vance as his running mate for his 2024 presidential run. While some were surprised Trump didn’t pick someone like Florida Senator Marco Rubio or Virginia Governor Glenn Younkin, Vance better fits the white Christian nationalist movement considering his direct ties to far-right extremist organizations such as the Heritage Foundation.
The addition of Vance to the Trump ticket solidifies the former president’s stances on many issues and pushes others, like abortion, further to the extreme right. Vance has also denounced divorce saying parents should stay together for their kids. Still, to further his political career he agreed to partner with a serial divorcer and sexual assaulter Donald Trump.
Despite these conflicts in so-called morality, Trump and Vance have much more in common than many people realize.
Vance on Women
Trump’s pick for vice president has been outspoken about the subjugation of women. In 2021, Vance spoke harshly about parents who divorce even if they are in a violent relationship that could harm their children. In his book, Hillbilly Elegy, he spoke highly of his grandparents who raised him. He claims they stayed together despite “an incredibly chaotic” marriage and ignored the negative impacts it may have had on him or others around them.
"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.’ And maybe it worked out for the moms and dads, though I’m skeptical. But it really didn’t work out for the kids of those marriages."
That didn’t stop him from softening his views on Trump though. While Vance once decried what he described as losing the “recognition that marriage was sacred,” he eventually capitulated to work for the man who has an outright disregard for marriage (and women) and who many Republicans believe holds the keys to their political careers.
Vance on Abortion
While Trump has said publicly that he does not support a federal abortion ban, many do not believe him and feel that he would buckle under pressure from his cohorts who have been in and will likely be in his cabinet. By tapping Vance as his Vice-President, Trump further solidified those doubts. Vance said in 2021, when he was running for the Ohio senate, that he didn’t support exceptions in abortion bans for rape and incest.
“It’s not whether a woman should be forced to bring a child to term,” Vance said in 2021. “It’s whether a child should be allowed to live, even though the circumstances of that child’s birth are somehow inconvenient or a problem to the society.”
While Vance has recently tried to project a more moderate image of himself, he stands firmly against all abortion and would like to set a “minimal national standard”. That idea is based on federal legislation that also conflicts with Trump’s public comments. Vance is also a firm believer in the notion that people without children shouldn’t be allowed to hold office and that people who are childfree by choice “do not have any physical commitment to the future of this country”.
Vance on Immigration
In a recent article from the Daily Signal, a Heritage Foundation (Heritage) outlet, Jarrett Stepman wrote that JD Vance and Missouri Senator Josh Hawley spoke at Heritage’s National Conservatism Conference earlier this month. They bolstered much of the disinformation about immigrants in Heritage’s Project 2025 – lies that are found in various conspiracy theories online driving fears of the so-called ‘browning of America’.
The conference was attended by racists blustering about ‘post-white America’.
Vance echoed many of the sentiments around the racist and antisemitic ‘Great Replacement’ conspiracy theory. He falsely argues that home prices are rising because of immigration while ignoring the growing share of corporate-owned homes and the corruption surrounding that takeover resulting in skyrocketing housing prices. Instead, like his new boss Donald Trump, his corporate-friendly views have him blaming immigrants.
He also blames immigrants for the rise in healthcare costs and the increased budgets of local and county healthcare budgets on immigrants receiving free benefits. Again, he ignores the longstanding corruption and failures of the for-profit healthcare system owned and operated by corporations more focused on increasing profits than providing quality healthcare.
Like other Republicans, Vance of course blames the nonexistent rise in crime on immigrants despite crime rates dropping to the lowest they have been since the pandemic. This is a fact to keep in mind as the Trump campaign’s strategy in the lead-up to the November elections is to link the supposed rise in crime to immigration.
Conclusion
This is a simple brief on JD Vance’s views that are directly linked to the current white Christian nationalist movement in the Republican party. There are many more problematic issues with him that are being discussed across all aspects of broader society. While most of the United States sees these issues as major problems, the overall MAGA movement that has taken over the conservative platform sees JD Vance as a plus for them.
As the attempted assassination of the former president is employed to try and garner support for the candidate who is a convicted felon and tried to overthrow the U.S. government so he can stay in power, Vance has said publicly that he would have done what Trumpers claim former Vice President Mike Pence wouldn’t do: overturn the 2020 election results.
It’s worth noting that Vance fundraised for January 6 insurrectionists who attempted a coup at Trump’s behest and once called for the Department of Justice to investigate a Washington Post columnist for writing a piece critical of the former president. If fascism is the goal, JD Vance is your guy. That’s the real reason Trump picked him.
I’m a freelance writer and journalist for Capitol Press, The Antagonist Magazine, and Unicorn Riot. Find me on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and Threads. To support my work become a paid subscriber or donate on Venmo, PayPal, or CashApp
Just started reading Hillbilly Elegy and I did notice it’s a stand your ground manifesto against not crime but a theory of diminished white manhood and an elegy to the subjugation of women. Political alignment against the marginalized furthers the corporate agenda for deregulated operation and tax cuts.
JD Vance is the same kind of human as Trump. A spineless liar who will say anything in order to get votes.