JD Vance as Trump's VP pick
Should Donald Trump have selected JD Vance as his running mate? Viewpoints from multiple sides.
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What’s happening
On Monday, former President Donald Trump selected Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) as his vice presidential running mate. Vance, a 39-year old with roughly two years of political experience, would become the third-youngest vice president ever if elected. He is viewed as similar in style to Trump and closely associated with Trump’s populist movement.
How he got here: Vance originally rose to fame from his bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy (2016), which chronicles challenges he faced growing up in an Ohio working-class family. His book was popular during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign with its focus on working-class whites, a group Trump appealed to and whose votes helped him win the presidency.
Vance was originally an outspoken Trump critic, once declaring in a 2016 NPR interview, “I can’t stomach Trump,” and referring to Trump as “cultural heroine” in a 2016 Atlantic op-ed. He reportedly began warming to Trump in 2018 and apologized in 2020 for his previous criticisms. In 2022, Vance won his Ohio Senate seat with Trump’s endorsement.
Prior to his political career, Vance served in the marines during the Iraq War, later graduating from Ohio State and Yale Law School, followed by work at a prominent law firm and several venture capital firms.
Current policy views: Vance’s public remarks help inform a snapshot of some of his stances:
Abortion: Vance is historically strongly against abortion and lobbied against an Ohio state measure last year that codified abortion protections. He supports limited exceptions (e.g., when the mother’s life is in danger) and is supportive of Trump’s policy toward leaving it up to states.
Foreign policy: Vance is opposed to continuing to fund the war in Ukraine, in favor of supporting Israel and its objectives to eliminate Hamas, and believes American attention should be shifted toward East Asia (e.g., China/Taiwan).
Elections: Vance has echoed Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was “stolen” and said in a February interview he believes the 2020 election “had a lot of problems.”
Immigration: Vance supports the completion of the US-Mexico border wall, stricter border crackdowns and limitations on amnesty, and conducting large-scale deportations as a means to protect jobs for native-born workers.
Tariffs: Vance supports broad tariffs, particularly on goods from China, as a means to protect the American worker and create jobs.
Viewpoints supportive of or opposed to Vance’s nomination are mixed across party lines based largely on how he is expected to impact Trump’s candidacy and his potential policy influence. This week, we bring you the viewpoints from multiple sides. Let us know what you think.
Notable viewpoints
More supportive of JD Vance’s VP nomination:
Vance will help Trump’s candidacy.
"Vance seems to understand the concerns of working-class Americans, not merely as the result of theoretical pondering, but most especially because he is himself a son of rural Appalachia, and is therefore familiar with the struggles of those whom Trump has rightfully called 'the forgotten men and women of our country.'" (Mike Ortiz, The American Spectator.)
Vance is cut from the same political cloth as Trump and will complement him by promoting similar views that have resonated with voters.
With a lot of similarities to Trump, Vance is unlikely to drastically increase Trump’s presidential chances but he won’t hurt them either; his charisma and intelligence give him the potential to broaden the appeal of the ticket.
Vance is outspoken on the abortion issue but has demonstrated balance and empathy when discussing how to promote a more pro-life agenda, which could resonate with a broader base of voters.
At 39 years old, Vance will appeal to millennials and connect with a new generation of Republicans.
If Trump is elected, Vance will promote an effective policy agenda.
Vance genuinely cares about working-class America and has been thoughtful about a policy agenda that hasn’t changed much during his political career, a commitment that will help American workers get what they want and need.
With Vance’s emphasis on decreasing funding to Ukraine and shifting foreign policy focus from Europe to Asia, he could help encourage Europe to take on more responsibility in its own defense and policing of the region.
Vance will promote effective policies because he aligns to the populist “New Right,” with a focus on supporting working class Americans such as steel workers and taking an “America first” approach to foreign intervention.
Vance will help get things done because he is intelligent, articulate, and thoughtfully engages with people on issues rather than spinning questions and conversations into political talking points.
With his more detailed focus on policy nuances than Trump, Vance may make Trump a more effective president.
More opposed to JD Vance’s VP nomination:
Vance will hurt Trump’s candidacy.
Vance, who is similar to Trump in style and approach, won’t do much to broaden the appeal of the Trump ticket beyond the existing Make America Great Again (MAGA) base.
Certain demographics, such as suburban women, are deeply opposed to Vance given his stance on some issues such as a strong opposition to abortion, which may hurt Trump’s electability.
Vance will have little appeal to voters outside the Republican party because of his habit of speaking in partisan extremes, including saying Biden’s campaign tactics “directly led” to Trump’s assassination attempt.
Some voters will likely view Vance as being too young for vice president or president should something tragic happen to Trump while in office.
By appointing a deep loyalist with similar views as himself, voters may conclude Trump’s focus in office will be more on retribution against past foes than enacting effective policy.
If Trump is elected, Vance will promote an ineffective policy agenda.
A concerning policy focus of Vance’s is his isolationist agenda, which includes a desire to drastically cut funding to Ukraine.
“The successful economic policy during Mr. Trump’s first term, including the 2017 tax cuts, was influenced by strong advisers and a Republican Congress. The risks to growth and prosperity are real if Mr. Trump’s second term is guided by Mr. Vance’s big-government Republicanism.” (Wall Street Journal Editorial Board.)
Vance, who has said Trump should take control from the left, fire existing mid-level bureaucrats, and defy the Supreme Court if it tries to stop him, promotes a dangerous enthusiasm for authoritarianism that could reshape American democracy.
Vance, who has said he would have supported Trump’s desire to overturn the 2020 election results and has promoted fundraising for Jan 6 rioters, will embolden Trump and make for an aggressive second-term agenda should their ticket win.
Given Trump’s age at 78, there is a legitimate possibility that Vance would take over the driver’s seat of the presidency during his term, a concerning potential outcome given his youth and relative inexperience politically.
Other viewpoints:
Compared to other potential Republican vice presidential candidates, Vance is a clean break from Reagan-era Republicanism – which focused on limited government, an emphasis on free markets, and muscular foreign policy – and a reflection of Trump’s control over the party.
“If there is any straight line between Vance’s economic views from the time when he hated Trump to his time as a Trump booster, it’s a belief that the party had to move away from limited-government ideology.” (Philip Klein, editor of National Review Online.)
The country’s mounting debt crisis, which both major parties have largely ignored, may impact Vance’s influence beyond a potential Trump second term, since limited government philosophies will return to favor among the public.
Vance, who staunchly opposed Trump prior to 2018 and once called him “America’s Hitler,” is hypocritical for reversing course, and only did so because it was necessary to win his 2022 Senate bid.
Vance is relatively unknown to voters; a June CNN poll found the majority of respondents hadn’t heard of Vance or had no opinion on him, while 13% had a favorable opinion and 20% had an unfavorable opinion.
Vance is the “Trumpiest” pick Trump could have made, and shows he is confident that he does not need to broaden the appeal of the ticket with his running mate to win.
As vice president, Vance would be well-positioned to be the future of the GOP and take "Trumpism" into a new era as the likely leading Republican presidential candidate in 2028.
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