JD Vance
JD Vance (Photo: Shutterstock)

A tweet reminding people of JD Vance’s former views of Donald Trump has gone viral. It marks the eighth anniversary of Vance tweeting, “Trump makes people I care about afraid. Immigrants, Muslims, etc. Because of this I find him reprehensible. God wants better of us.”

Vance’s original tweet, later deleted, was posted in 2016. The Hillbilly Elegy author gave several interviews around that time in which he unequivocally slated Donald Trump.

In a private message to a friend in February of that year, Vance said, “I go back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical asshole like Nixon who wouldn’t be that bad (and might even prove useful) or that he’s America’s Hitler.”

He told the New York Times in April of that year, “Mr Trump is unfit for our nation’s highest office.”

In August of that year, he told NPR, “I can’t stomach Trump. I think that he’s noxious and is leading the white working class to a very dark place.”

Change of opinion

Since then, Vance has gained political office. He became the US Senator for Ohio in 2020. He is now Trump’s running mate for re-election in November.

Vance says Trump impressed him in the White House and he underwent a change of opinion after becoming a father. Vance has distanced himself from his former comments, putting them down to youthful ignorance.

In July 2021, Vance told CNN, “Like a lot of people, I criticized Trump back in 2016. And I ask folks not to judge me based on what I said in 2016, because I’ve been very open that I did say those critical things and I regret them.”

In May of this year, Vance said, “I was wrong about him. I didn’t think he was going to be a good president … and I was very, very proud to be proven wrong.”

However, there are indications that Vance’s opinion about Trump changed later than many assume.

It’s been revealed that Vance swapped private thoughts about Trump with an employee of the consulting firm, Deloitte, in 2020. Those messages recently leaked.

“Trump has just so thoroughly failed to deliver on his economic populism (excepting a disjointed China policy),” Vance wrote in one message in February 2020. He went on to predict that Trump would lose the 2020 election.

If Vance was impressed by Trump’s time in the White House, he still seemed critical in early 2020.

Putin

Of course, since then, Vance has refused to say that Trump lost the 2020 election. Yesterday, a reporter asked Vance about reports in a new book by Bob Woodford alleging Donald Trump enjoyed several phone calls with Vladimir Putin after he left office.

Vance suggested there was nothing concerning about the allegation.

“Even if it’s true, is there something wrong with speaking to world leaders? No. Is there anything wrong with engaging in diplomacy?”

The internet reacts

Many people had something to say about Vance’s old tweet about Trump.

Related*

Sign up for the Queerty newsletter to stay on top of the hottest stories in LGBTQ+ entertainment, politics, and culture.

Help make sure LGBTQ+ stories are being told...

We can't rely on mainstream media to tell our stories. That's why we don't lock Queerty articles behind a paywall. Will you support our mission with a contribution today?

Once Monthly Annually

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated