JD Vance's evolution from Trump critic to running mate

Amid a tumultuous week, Donald Trump officially tapped freshman Ohio Sen. JD Vance to join him on the Republican ticket as his running mate. Vance, a relative newcomer to politics, rose to fame in 2016 with his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” documenting his upbringing in Appalachia. Geoff Bennett discussed more with Ohio Statehouse News Bureau Chief Karen Kasler, who has been covering Vance for years.

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Amna Nawaz: Meanwhile, Trump’s pick for vice president was being closely watched. And it’s notable that the man he ultimately chose is a relative newcomer to politics.

J.D. Vance rose to fame in 2016 with his best-selling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” documenting his upbringing in a white working-class Appalachian family struggling with poverty and addiction.

Geoff Bennett: But as we mentioned, Senator Vance has been a staunch ally of the former president.

In a statement on his conservative social platform. Truth Social, Mr. Trump congratulated Vance, saying — quote — “As vice president, J.D. Will continue to fight for our Constitution, stand with our troops, and will do everything he can to help me make America great again.”

Joining us to talk about all this is Ohio Public Media Statehouse news bureau chief Karen Kasler. She’s been following Vance for many years.

Karen, thanks so much for being with us.

Amna Nawaz: Karen, thanks for being with us.

Karen Kasler, Statehouse News Bureau, Ohio Public Media: Great to be here.

Amna Nawaz: So, Mr. Vance, Senator Vance, has now been tapped for this role. We know he’s a young senator, not spending too much time in politics so far, but you have been covering him. What should we understand about why you think he was tapped to be the vice president?

Karen Kasler: Well, he is the second youngest member of the U.S. Senate, so that potentially brings in younger voters, possibly. He’s got a young family.

He’s only two years in office, and never held elected office before he ran for the U.S. Senate. He was elected in 2022 after winning a brutal seven-way primary that was the most expensive in Ohio history. And so I think that there may be the thought that, because of his age, his military service, some of these things might be part of the reason why he was picked.

He also has a strong business background. He came from California as a venture capital — working at a venture capital firm, so that could indicate that maybe that’s something that Trump is looking at as well.

Geoff Bennett: And, Karen, as Lisa mentioned, years ago, back during the 2016 race, Vance was a critic of Donald Trump. Here’s what he told Judy Woodruff when he appeared on this program years ago to talk about…

Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH), Vice Presidential Candidate: Donald Trump doesn’t necessarily have a good message either. That’s maybe not the best approach to politics. It’s not how you…

Donald Trump doesn’t necessarily have a good message either. That’s maybe not the best approach to politics. It’s not how you win these folks over. And if you’re worried about them being racist now, when you push them away and push them to somebody like Trump, you’re only going to make the problem worse.

Geoff Bennett: So how has his persona, his political ideology evolved since then?

Karen Kasler: Well, that clip is mild compared to some of the things that Vance said about Trump. He compared Trump to Hitler. He called Trump an idiot. He said he was a never-Trumper.

He has walked all of those statements back. And it’s interesting because his path to where he is now kind of mirrors the way that a lot of Republicans feel in the Republican Party, that the party has kind of moved and Vance has moved along with him.

And so I think that’s notable that he has turned that around. He has said that he has apologized. He’s walked back a lot of those statements. And he said that — and even Trump has said that he’s forgiven Vance for what he has said in the past. And, apparently, the party plans to kind of use that to show that there are people who may not have liked Trump at one point, but could be persuaded to like him now.

Amna Nawaz: Karen, tell us more about some of those people he may bring into the fold here. He doesn’t necessarily broaden appeal when it comes to racial or gender diversity, right?

But — and he’s not even necessarily geared to bring in people who wanted a maybe softer rhetoric from this ticket. So what’s the broader appeal and what way does he expand the appeal for this ticket?

Karen Kasler: Well, he doesn’t really bring in Ohio voters. He beat Tim Ryan, a moderate Democratic congressman for the Senate in 2022, by six points. And Ohio is most likely going to go for Trump anyway.

But he potentially appeals to Appalachian voters, people who grew up poor and have seen what Vance has been able to do. But it’s interesting. He’s talked a lot about opposing the elites and pushing back on the elites, but he is indeed a graduate of Yale Law School. So that’s something that a lot of people do consider to be fairly elite.

But he also, like I said, brings in potentially younger voters, in that he is younger. If he were elected, I believe he would be the third youngest or second youngest vice president. And so that’s certainly an appeal for some folks. And his business background, I think, is going to be something that could potentially be highlighted.

Geoff Bennett: That is Karen Kasler.

Karen, thanks so much for sharing your insights with us.