Former Trump critic JD Vance embraces 'America First' agenda with gusto

From an outspoken Donald Trump critic to the former president’s running mate for his second term, Republican vice president candidate JD Vance is an unusual character in American politics.

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance, a senator of Ohio, speaks at a campaign event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on Oct. 17. [AP/YONHAP]

From an outspoken Donald Trump critic to the former president’s running mate for his second term, Republican vice president candidate JD Vance is an unusual character in American politics.

The 40-year-old senator from Ohio is a Marine veteran, venture capitalist and the author of a best-selling memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” that was made into a Hollywood film. In the aftermath of the memoir’s success, Vance was often asked to comment by media on why Trump appealed to white working-class Americans, and each time, he vehemently criticized Trump — but now he is running alongside the former president for a second term.

Vance, a first-time senator sworn in as a member of the 118th U.S. Congress after defeating Democratic nominee Tim Ryan with 53 percent of the vote, was chosen as Trump’s running mate on July 15, the first day of the Republican National Convention (RNC).

Trump’s choice of Vance, who has little political experience compared to others who were considered for running mate, appears to be a move to attract young conservative voters to the polls while keeping the long-term future of the Republican Party in mind even after he leaves office.

On the policy side, Vance strongly advocates for Trump's “America First” initiative. Like the former president, he has strongly advocated in Congress for blocking illegal immigration to the U.S. and suspending aid to Ukraine, playing an important role in promoting this agenda to voters in swing states.

Bills sponsored or supposed by Vance have made little headway in the Senate, perhaps no surprise given his short tenure in the Democratic-controlled Congress. Those bills seem to focus more on delivering specific messages than on actual policy change.

In recent months, Vance has sponsored legislation to cut off federal funding to universities that have protested Israel’s war in Gaza and to those that hire undocumented immigrants. In March, Vance also supported legislation to block China from accessing U.S. capital markets if it violates international trade laws.

On Korea, Vance has yet to make a direct statement on a second Trump administration’s foreign policy toward the peninsula, but in a July RNC speech, he argued that U.S. allies should share the burden of promoting world peace, warning against what he deemed “free rides.”

“No more free rides for nations that betray the generosity of the American taxpayer,” said Vance in the RNC speech in July.

Speaking at a rally in Detroit earlier this month, the vice presidential candidate commented on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s weight, arguing that Trump's willingness to joke about Kim’s appearance shows that he is good at foreign diplomacy.

“Let’s be honest, Kim Jong-un hasn’t skipped many meals,” said Vance. “You have to go and talk to people, you have to be willing to engage in diplomacy, engage in conversations. That’s how you keep the world from falling into disarray and war, and Donald Trump was better at it than anybody over the last 50 years.”

BY LIM JEONG-WON [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]