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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsJD Vance called Trump "Cultural heroin" in 2016
While Vance is now one of Trumps most steadfast allies, he was previously critical. He wrote in an Atlantic opinion piece in July 2016 that Trump was cultural heroin for the masses.
He makes some feel better for a bit, he wrote. But he cannot fix what ails them, and one day theyll realize it.
He declared Trump unfit for our nations highest office in an August 2016 New York Times op-ed headlined Why Trumps Antiwar Message Resonates with White America. Vance also sent a message that year to his law school roommate, Josh McLaurin, saying that he went back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical asshole like Nixon who wouldnt be that bad (and might even prove useful) or that hes Americas Hitler. McLaurin had reached out to Vance about writing an opinion piece together at the time.
I never could have dreamed during those exchanges in 2016 that he would end up being one of the principal reinforcers of Trumpism only a few years later, said McLaurin, who is now a Democratic state senator in Georgia.
He makes some feel better for a bit, he wrote. But he cannot fix what ails them, and one day theyll realize it.
He declared Trump unfit for our nations highest office in an August 2016 New York Times op-ed headlined Why Trumps Antiwar Message Resonates with White America. Vance also sent a message that year to his law school roommate, Josh McLaurin, saying that he went back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical asshole like Nixon who wouldnt be that bad (and might even prove useful) or that hes Americas Hitler. McLaurin had reached out to Vance about writing an opinion piece together at the time.
I never could have dreamed during those exchanges in 2016 that he would end up being one of the principal reinforcers of Trumpism only a few years later, said McLaurin, who is now a Democratic state senator in Georgia.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/15/jd-vance-trump-vice-president-announcement/
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JD Vance called Trump "Cultural heroin" in 2016 (Original Post)
Cattledog
Jul 2024
OP
brewens
(15,359 posts)1. He's heroin for part of the culture. Ramp it up to fentanyl and we'll see how that goes. :) n/t
sop
(12,476 posts)8. Hillbilly Heroin
Or was it 'Hillbilly Elegy'?
dslyahoo
(179 posts)2. Only to the likes of him
To all of the rest of us, trump is a cultural menace, a tick.
Raven123
(6,330 posts)3. We need to repeat these posts relentlessly as do the Dem candidates
Get into TFGs head. Vance has called TFG voters uneducated and called TFG an authoritarian drug dealer.
patphil
(7,367 posts)4. But he cannot fix what ails them. Vance had it right back then.
Actually, he isn't interest in fixing what ails his supporters. They're the real suckers and losers that Trump talked about.
All he needs is their loyalty, their money, their votes, and their easily directed rage.
The rest is just for show.
Mz Pip
(27,990 posts)5. Vance is now an addict
just like the rest of Trumps cult.
Joinfortmill
(17,170 posts)6. Yup, he lies.
kwolf68
(7,890 posts)7. Vance the ultimate sellout
Money before principles and honesty. The American way. Vance clearly had the pulse back then and was articulate and intelligent in his approach. Vance IS a smart man, but I think his intellect will be stymied by him being a sycophantic sheep for Trump. Smart people can sound really dumb when they try to peddle bullshit. The VP pick won't win/lose this race either way.