On the first day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee (July 15), Donald Trump revealed that 39-year-old Ohio senator JD Vance is his vice presidential nominee. For months, there was speculation that Trump—who has made numerous attempts to garner support from the Black community—would select a Black man as his vice president.
However, he opted to satisfy the needs of the Republican party which has proudly become synonymous with extremism. Instead of going with the two obvious choices for a Black running mate—U.S. South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson—Trump’s VP pick is a straight white man who has a history of racist rhetoric.
“After lengthy deliberation and thought, and considering the tremendous talents of many others, I have decided that the person best suited to assume the position of Vice President of the United States is Senator J.D. Vance of the Great State of Ohio.” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Monday.
Vance, who rose to prominence as the author of “Hillbilly Elegy,” was once a vocal critic of Trump and in an 2016 NPR interview said he’d rather write his dog on the ballot than vote for Trump. He has then turned into a staunch Trump supporter who has promoted the “Great Replacement Theory” which is rooted solely in racism.
Vance accused Democrats of trying to “transform the electorate” by orchestrating an immigrant “invasion” during a Fox News interview in 2022. That same year, Vance’s first ad in his Senate campaign asked: “Are you a racist? Do you hate Mexicans? The media calls us racist for wanting to build Trump’s wall.
“They censor us, but it doesn’t change the truth: Joe Biden’s open border is killing Ohioans with more illegal drugs, and more Democrat voters pouring into this country.” Vance is vehemently anti-DEI and plans to put an end to government programs that support Black workers because he insists they are “anti-white.”
Perhaps the most disconcerting thing about Vance is that he knows Trump has used racism to seize power—and now plans to do the same exact thing. “It’s not just that Donald Trump doesn’t speak to issues of special concern of minority voters or Black voters, it’s that he seems to like actively antagonizing a lot of the Black voters,” Vance stated on CNN in October 2016 when he was anti-Trump.
“Unfortunately, that’s been the Republican Party strategy for 30 years. I say that as a Republican who wants the party to get more Black voters. And Trump seems to be taking that strategy just to the next level.”
Even though Vance has condemned Trump’s bigotry in the past, he has seen what it has done for the former president. Now, Vance has decided to dangerously cash in on that strategy himself.