The Atlantic republished a searing essay by JD Vance this week that branded Donald Trump as a form of "cultural heroin" for a desperate electorate, resurfacing the vice president's most withering critique of the man he now serves.
The magazine ran the piece on Saturday with an editor's note framing it as a 10-year retrospective, inviting readers to assess how well Vance's analysis has aged. The original essay appeared during Trump's 2016 campaign, when Vance was working at venture capitalist Peter Thiel's firm and had just published "Hillbilly Elegy," his bestselling memoir about Rust Belt decline.
In that earlier work, Vance dissected Trump's appeal as a painkiller for a nation wracked by economic collapse and institutional distrust. He wrote that Trump offered "an easy escape from the pain" and made citizens "feel better for a bit," but warned the relief would prove temporary. "To every complex problem, he promises a simple solution," Vance wrote. "Trump's promises are the needle in America's collective vein."
The essay was unsparing. Vance predicted supporters would eventually realize Trump could not fix what troubled them. "He cannot fix what ails them, and one day they'll realize it," he concluded.
The republication carries weight given Vance's complete reversal since then. Before entering politics, he had called Trump "America's Hitler" and said he was "unfit" for office and "leading the white working class to a very dark place." He branded himself a "never Trump guy."
That stance crumbled when Vance ran for U.S. Senate in Ohio in 2022. With Trump's backing, Vance won the race and then became the former president's running mate in 2024. He now functions as one of Trump's fiercest defenders, his earlier misgivings apparently shed along the way.
David Frum, a senior editor at the Atlantic who knew Vance early in his political career, described the transformation bluntly to NPR during last year's election. "I think he walked across it," Frum said, referring to a line Vance had supposedly drawn for himself. "I think he told us in advance what it was. It was Donald Trump, and he walked across it."
Vance's old essay hit the internet quickly and gained traction online, landing at a moment when Trump faces approval ratings near historic lows. His mass deportation campaign has proved unpopular, prices have not fallen as he promised, and he has maneuvered the U.S. toward military involvement with Iran despite his 2024 pledges to avoid new wars. Trump marked the country's 250th anniversary on Saturday by declaring a "golden age," a claim that sits uncomfortably with his earlier messaging about threats and decline.
Vance is now widely expected to position himself as Trump's successor, likely competing with Secretary of State Marco Rubio for that role.
Author James Rodriguez: "The Atlantic's timing is sharp, but the real question is whether anyone in Trump's orbit will read the piece and feel even a twinge of recognition."
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