JD Vance: From calling Trump 'idiot' to being his VP nominee

Donald Trump's Vice Presidential nominee, JD Vance was an active Trump opponent during the Presidential election campaign of 2016 who publically referred to him as an 'idiot' and 'reprehensible' and in private, compared him to Hitler.

Jump to Monday when Trump was naming Vance as his VP for the 2024 elections, the man born in Ohio was already amongst staunch Trump supporters, even when the latter was still politically isolated by other Republicans, Reuters reported. 

Among Trump followers, one of the drastic transformations worthy of mention is that of James David Vance, formerly known as a “never Trumper”. Most Democrats and some Republicans are in doubt about whether Vance, a best-selling author of ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ and a first-term Senator from Ohio, is motivated by self-interest or political principle.

That is why Trump and his entourage consider Vance’s change for the better – they appreciate his political views, which are indeed similar to Trump’s: isolationist-populist, in contrast to the typical Republican militarist-liberal Keynesians.

Trump has supported Vance to oppose the USAID to Ukraine in its war against Russia which pleases his conservative base even if it offends some Senate fellows.

Vance, who was born into poverty in southern Ohio, could potentially boost Trump in the key swing states such as Pennsylvania and Michigan carrying pro-Trump messages but his conservatism may be off-putting to more moderate voters.