No one can say that JD Vance hasn’t loudly made a name for himself in the short time he’s worked in Washington, first as senator and now as Vice President.
He was sworn in as a senator of Ohio in 2023, a position he left to work at the White House alongside Donald Trump.
But while the president might be a person who says what he thinks, JD Vance seems to have taken it a step further. Whether one agrees with his opinions or not, the Vice President has proven himself to be one-of-a-kind, and not necessarily in a positive way. Timing, apparently, is something he’s never heard of.
JD Vance has done many things in his life. After being involved in the US military and studying at Harvard, he gained nationwide fame for his 2016 book Hillbilly Elegy, which was even adapted into a movie directed by Hollywood legend Ron Howard.
It was clear Vance had ideas about how he wanted the US to change, and – after a change of mind, that he wanted it to exact those changes in service to Donald Trump. He was elected US Senator in 2022, but just two years later, he was primed for a future at the White House.
JD Vance became Trump’s running partner, and now his work takes place in and around the Oval Office. However, while the Vice President’s role is clear, it appears that Vance is seeking to undertake his duties differently to the majority of vice presidents before him. So has he forgotten his place in the order that is the White House? Or is he simply a hothead who doesn’t care?
I have no doubts that JD Vance is an ambitious politician who knows what he wants. Neither has he been raised as someone who doesn’t listen to others or wants to create conflicts. But based on what happened at the White House last week – when Vance, out of nowhere, lashed out at Ukrainian President Vlodomyr Zelenskyy, orchestrating what some would call straight-up bullying – there are some questions that need answering.