5 chilling details you didn’t know about JD Vance of Hillbilly Elegy

J.D. Vance, who wrote Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, is currently serving as the junior United States senator from Ohio. Vance, who is a member of the Republican Party, is a venture capitalist, author, and politician. Former US President Donald Trump nominated J.D. Vance for the position of Vice President in the upcoming 2024 elections.

His memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, was published on June 28, 2016. It highlights sensitive political topics such as employment, economic stability, displacement, and welfare assistance provided by the state. The ideologies highlighted in the book resonate with the manifesto of the Republican Party.

J.D. Vance’s political agenda is also reflected in Hillbilly Elegy. He has been vocal about his stance on the geopolitics of the United States, stricter border security and immigration policies, and domestic concerns such as child-free marriage, abortion, divorce, and abuse.

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5 things to know about the author of Hillbilly Elegy

1) J.D. Vance’s thoughts on U.S. Foreign policies

In the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, J.D. Vance reportedly supports United States funding for Israel against Hamas. Vance criticized the current President Joe Biden for not giving Israel the right weapon support to attain victory over Hamas. Vance considers Hamas to be solely responsible for the civilian deaths.

When Iran militias attacked the U.S. troops, Vance said that it would be a “mistake” to support military action against them as it would lead to more destruction. Meanwhile, during the Russia-Ukraine war, Vance opposed the US military's aid to Ukraine. He stated that he didn't "really care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other."

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2) Evolved relations with Donald Trump

Although he would openly criticize Donald Trump, J.D. Vance has gone on to become a member of the Republican Party. Trump also announced Vance's name as the nominee for Vice President.

Until 2020, the writer of Hillbilly Elegy would often share his not-so-good thoughts about Trump during interviews and on X. He has even called himself a "never-Trump guy." During a show hosted by Charlie Rose, J.D. Vance called the former US president a "cultural heroin." However, in 2020, Vance began supporting the former US President and his ideologies.

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3) Opposing LGBTQ rights

J.D. Vance doesn't support the Respect for Marriage Act, which allows same-s*x marriage, as he believes that a marriage should be "between a man and a woman." However, he also admits that same-sex marriage is not the bigger issue here.

Vance suggested a law to illegalize gender-affirming care for minors. This law wouldn't allow doctors to perform the procedures.

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4) Partially opposing abortions

J.D. Vance was previously in complete support of restricting abortions, specifically after 15 weeks of pregnancy. However, after Donald Trump stated that the decision over abortion access should be left to the states, Vance’s stance over abortion restrictions seemingly changed.

Vance supported the exception to be made in the cases of s*xual assault but mentioned that "two wrong[s] don't make a right."

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5) Labor laws, as highlighted in Hillbilly Elegy

In Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance highlighted how welfare assistance and exemptions given by the state made things easier for some of his colleagues, but he had to struggle and work hard for them.

He opposes the PRO Act, which looks into protections related to the rights of employees to organize and collectively bargain. However, he supports the concepts of the worker's council and sectoral bargaining.

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The memoir Hillbilly Elegy is available to be purchased on Amazon. The movie based on the memoir was released in 2020 and can be streamed on Netflix.