JD Vance Said ‘Emperor’ Trump ‘Thoroughly Failed’ In 2020, Report Says

27 Sep 2024 by Ty Roush · Forbes

Topline

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, an earlier critic of his running mate Donald Trump, wrote in 2020 that he believed the former president “thoroughly failed” and would “probably lose” the election, the Washington Post reported Friday, though Vance claimed he shifted his judgment during Trump’s presidency.

The Republican vice-presidential nominee had said he changed his tune about Trump after his first ... [+] term, whom he previously referred to as “America’s Hitler.”AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

Vance, writing to an unnamed user on what was then Twitter in February 2020, said in messages obtained by the Washington Post that “Trump has just so thoroughly failed to deliver on his economic populism (excepting a disjointed China policy.)”

In June 2020, months before a presidential election Vance later falsely claimed was stolen, Vance told the same user: “I think Trump will probably lose.”

William Martin, a spokesperson for Vance, told the Post Vance’s criticism of Trump’s economic policies was not meant to condemn the former president, instead suggesting the comment was against “establishment Republicans who thwarted much of Trump’s populist economic agenda.”

Vance also suggested in the messages he had been offered a role in the Trump presidency, but that he “turned down my appointment from the emperor,” and didn’t accept.

Martin did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Forbes.

Key Background

Vance has said earlier, harsh criticisms of Trump after he won in 2016 were wrong, and he had “[changed] my tune.” In 2016, Vance told Charlie Rose he was a “never Trump guy” and “never liked him.” That same year, he published articles in The Atlantic and The New York Times arguing Trump “can’t fix” America’s “social and cultural crisis” and that Trump is “unfit for our nation’s highest office,” respectively. Vance, in texts with a former roommate, reportedly said he was going “back and forth” between thinking Trump was a “cynical asshole … or that he’s America’s Hitler.” Before launching a 2022 senatorial campaign, Vance indicated he regretted “being wrong about” Trump.

Tangent

Despite Vance’s comments about Trump, the pair have reportedly built a close relationship, even amid public disagreements. Earlier this summer Vance floated in an interview with NBC that Trump had “explicitly” said he would veto a national abortion ban, leading Trump to disagree publicly a debate with Vice President Kamala Harris, saying: “I didn’t discuss it with JD in all fairness.” Vance later backtracked his original comments, suggesting they “still haven’t discussed” it “because it’s not realistic.”

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