How To Be A Populist: J.D. Vance Style

Here’s how J.D. Vance describes himself on his website:

After the success of [Hillbilly Elegy], JD became a well-known commentator. On conservative and liberal networks, JD fiercely defended working-class Americans and the conservative way of life that values grit, determination, and freedom. JD is now a fixture on Fox News Channel, Newsmax, and other outlets.

To call Vance a grifter is an insult to grifters. It’s well known that he did not vote for Donald Trump in the 2016 Presidential Election — saying on him “Trump makes people I care about afraid. Immigrants, Muslims, etc. Because of this, I find him reprehensible. God wants better of us” — yet now Vance is running as the second coming of Donald Trump’s Republican populism. If one looks throughout his career, you’ll find a man who only became a populist because he thought it would bring him massive political success. Yet, everyone — even those who hate Vance — seems to be convinced that he’s the “real deal.” As Henry Olsen wrote while slobbering about Vance in The Washington Post on 7/8/2021:

He is deeply concerned about the state of working-class people of all races in today’s hyper-corporate, globalized America, and he hasn’t surrendered his mind to polls or to the donor class in an effort to fit in.