SPLC Action Fund Calls Vice Presidential Candidate J.D. Vance One of the Most Extreme Public Figures Today
WASHINGTON — Today, the SPLC Action Fund issued a statement in response to former President Donald Trump’s naming of J.D. Vance as his running mate at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
“J.D. Vance is one of the most extreme public figures today — and a threat to a multiracial, inclusive democracy,” said Margaret Huang, president and CEO of SPLC Action Fund. “Vance has ties to far-right extremists and, during his short tenure as senator, has already amassed a long and troubling record of proposing anti-abortion, anti-LGBTQ and anti-immigration policies. He has also called for the elimination of all diversity programs in the federal government. Having once called the former president a ‘moral disaster’ and privately questioned whether he was ‘America’s Hitler,’ Vance’s own evolution into a Trump evangelist is representative of the right-wing’s ongoing spiral into MAGA extremism and authoritarianism.”
“A Trump-Vance ticket is dangerous for American democracy,” Huang continued. “His selection signals Trump’s attempt to enshrine his regressive, anti-democracy vision for America well into the future by elevating Vance as a party frontrunner in 2028. With so much on the line in this election — our rights, our opportunities and our livelihoods — the American public deserves leaders at the highest level of government who will represent all people and work to unite our nation, not divide it.”
Background on J.D. Vance:
In 2022, J.D. Vance won the U.S. Senate seat in Ohio. Prior to holding public office, Vance was a partner at Mithril Capital and invested in the extremist-friendly livestreaming website Rumble. At Mithril Capital, Vance worked alongside billionaire Peter Thiel, who has declared that freedom and democracy are not compatible. In addition to their business partnership, Thiel donated liberally to Vance’s Senate campaign.
Vance rose to prominence through his 2016 memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, which described his upbringing in Middletown, Ohio. Vance sought to position himself as a representative of poor, white, rural Americans following the book’s release. During his campaign, Vance appeared to endorse a version of the “great replacement” conspiracy theory, accusing Democrats of “[bringing] in a large number of new voters to replace the voters that are already here” in a March appearance on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” He has also suggested that women in “violent” marriages shouldn’t get divorced.
