Trump probably doesn’t want you to watch this video of J.D. Vance
The call is coming from inside the White House.
It’s no secret that Donald Trump has political enemies. Possibly one of the divisive American politicians of the 21st century, Trump inspires abject revulsion or cult-like devotion in the minds of the nation’s voters, and its politicians are similarly divided in their opinion of the president. While Trump’s base of fervent supporters have proven that they are willing to go above and beyond for their candidate (even when it means inciting violence) some of Trump’s political allies have taken some cajoling before they were ready to lend their loyalty. Despite his seemingly ardent support of the president, Vice President J.D. Vance seems to be one of those fair-weather political allies.
Vance wasn’t always a Trump loyalist
In a recently resurfaced series of interview clips, Vance can be seen telling MSNBC that he is a vocal critic of Trump. In 2016, Vance told MSBNC hosts that he is a “Never Trump guy” – a conservative who refuses to support Trump despite Trump’s status as the head of the GOP. Considering his recent and explosive defense Trump in a heated Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, it feels clear that Vance’s definition of “never” is rather different from his former “Never Trump” peers.
“I never liked him” Vance said in the same breath as he declared himself a Never Trumper. In the next videoclip, Vance can be seen weighing in on one of Trump’s many accusations of sexual assault. “Do you believe Donald Trump, who always tells the truth – just kidding” Vance said, sarcastically, “or do you believe that woman on that tape?” While Vance appeared to be adamant that Trump was indeed guilty of assault, he changed his tune in the lead-up to Trump’s return to office. Soon after a judge declared Trump to be civilly liable for raping author E. Jean Carroll, Vance once again spoke out about “truth” – this time in defense of his Trump. “They are trying to take him down for political reasons” Vance said of the legal team responsible for the lawsuit. “That, to me, is not about justice, that’s not about discovering the truth. That’s about using the legal system instead of the political system to win a debate against Donald Trump.”
Vance believed Trump was a predator, and allegedly thought he was a charlatan, too. In an interview with Kentucky-based radio host Matt Jones, Vance can be heard agreeing with Jones’ statement that Trump is a “total fraud.” Vance then tells Jones “I don’t think [Trump] actually cares about folks” and suggests that Trump is exploiting his voters’ desperate circumstances in order to gain their political support.
Vance has previously accused Trump of racist behavior
Compounding on these criticisms, Vance also once declared that racism was a primary tool of Trump’s political agenda. “There is definitely an element of Donald Trump’s support that has its basis in racism or xenophobia” Vance said in an interview with PBS NewsHour, and went on to tell CNN that Trump’s appeared to enjoy “actively antagonizing” Black voters as part of a Republican political strategy. In a since-deleted post on Twitter, Vance once said he found Trump “reprehensible” because he
“makes the people I care about afraid. Immigrants, Muslims, etc.” It’s a stunning about face from Vance’s current political leanings, which are in full support of Trump’s plan for the mass deportation of immigrants.
Vance once declared his boss to be a fraud, but by making a complete ideological 180 in support of Trump, some may say he’s proven himself to be a fraud as well.
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