Recently, Vice President J.D. Vance held a town hall meeting with Michigan voters hosted by CBS News anchor Tony Dokoupil. Key topics included the Iran War, the economy, and White House cryptocurrency earnings, among others. Vance’s performance was very weak, and his answers seemed out of touch with the audience. When asked by the husband of a soldier who was killed in the Iran War about the shortcomings of the armed forces in keeping their troops safe, Vance answered, saying, “This is literally the first time I’ve heard of this; is this conversation.”
It is well known that Vance has been building his case for the 2028 presidential election. However, Vance has proven to be weak in front of the cameras, as shown by the recent town hall, and he lacks the charisma and energy that carried Trump to the presidency in 16’ and in 24’. That is to be said as of right now; when looking in political circles and in conservative media, it looks like J.D. Vance is the top guy for the GOP in 2028. If this comes to fruition, this will be the biggest blunder the GOP has made. Vice President Vance will become the biggest political liability for Republicans, maybe ever.
Who Is J.D.
The best place to list the start in J.D. Vance’s political career is during his first year at Yale Law School, where he met his soon-to-be largest benefactor, Palantir and PayPal founder Peter Thiel. Thiel was giving a speech on the stagnation of technological progress and how young lawyers’ aspirations should be bigger than corporate settlements. Vance later wrote in a 2020 essay for The Lamp that hearing Thiel’s talk was “the most significant moment of my time at Yale”. Following the talk, Vance initiated a conversation with Thiel, beginning a decade-long mentorship that shaped Vance’s career in venture capital, his religious conversion, and his entry into national politics.
Vance would then join Thiel’s San Francisco start-up, Mithril Capital, where he worked a no-show job as a corporate lawyer. During this time, Vance would write Hillbilly Elegy, where Vance would paint himself as the common man whose family struggled in the Rust Belt. Vance would then go on and co-found the Rockbridge Network, which was funded by Thiel and Marc Andreessen of Andreessen Horowitz. Notably, the Rockbridge Network would go on to start up Tucker Carlson’s podcast through 1789 Capital. It is important to mention that Vance has been on Tucker’s show 46 times, and they have referred to each other as close friends. They are also tied together by their mutual friend Peter Thiel.
If you looked at the views of Vance early on, it would be extremely hard to see how he became the Vice President of Donald Trump. Vance was an admirer of former President Obama. In the 2017 New York Times op ed titled “Obama and Me,’ Vance wrote “For at a pivotal time in my life, Barack Obama gave me hope that a boy who grew up like me could still achieve the most important of my dreams. For that, I’ll miss him, and the example he set.”
Vance was a self-proclaimed “never Trump guy,” voting for the Trump spoiler candidate and CIA agent Evan McMullin. That would soon change when looking for a seat on Capitol Hill.
After J.D.’s time in venture capital, he would go on to run for senator of Ohio, where his billionaire friend Peter Thiel would invest 15 million in the campaign. Vance would receive a precious Trump endorsement after a Thiel-brokered reconciliation with Trump and secure victory.
As the 2024 presidential election grew closer, Trump began to look for a running mate and, more particularly, a VP that would have access to mega donors, which Trump desperately needed at the time. In early June of 24 Trump was invited to a Fundraiser dinner at the Mansion of David Sacks, who is a friend of Thiel and a former donor to Vance. The group behind Vance at this event included figures like the Winklevoss Twins and Jacob Helberg. The fundraiser would add over 12 million dollars to the Trump war chest and prove to Trump his access to high-dollar donors. Next month Trump would name Vance as his running mate in Milwaukee during the Republican National Convention.
An Ironic Fate
Vance is a walking contradiction. He proclaims to be a devout Catholic but has also said he is ashamed to take his wife and kids to Mass. Vance dabbles in far-right rhetoric, but when questioned on it, he is quick to disavow it, including passing off concerns of the voter base. He attempts to seem hip and like a regular white guy by saying “Dude” and “What’s up man,” when answering questions from the public, but his benefactors are industry oligarchs. One of the most prominent contradictions is trying to separate himself from the Iran War. His supporters, like Carlson, make excuses for him, saying he must stick by the President and he’s just doing what he has to do. This can’t be any further from the truth. It was Vance in 2024 who went to the non-interventionist Quincy Institute and lobbied for a necessary war in Iran. Also, Vance is the only one in the admin who can’t be fired by the President if he came out against the war. So unlike someone like Marco Rubio, Vance almost has the obligation to stand for his beliefs. However, he was always planning for this conflict and should be no surprise to anyone in the country.
Vance will have to continue to hang tight to Trump no matter how unpopular he becomes because we know the Trump endorsement will be the key to the republican primary. Vance will then have to answer to the media and public some tough questions. Why did we go to War in Iran? Why didn’t you do anything to stop the most unpopular war in U.S. history? Why is the economy so bad? Are you in the back pocket of little tech? Vance doesn’t have an answer to any of these questions, and these questions will metaphorically kill him in 28’. Vance has no foundation; he is a chameleon who has been molded by Thiel, Sacks, Helberg and a plethora of tech special interests to be their guy in the White House. His lack of foundation and his lack of political intuition will not only cost the people behind him but also set the GOP back 20 years.
Peter Thiel, Musk, Sacks and a coalition of “little tech” oligarchs plugged Vance into the Vice Presidency with the hopes that he would cling to a Trump golden age and become the next President. Trump now has the worst approval rating of any president in history, and now Vance has had to cling to Trump to have any chance at the presidency, and at the same time have to run as far away from Trump to win over the 65+ percent of Americans who disapprove of the admin. J.D. Vance is doomed.
This was included in MKZine!
“MKZine: Student Voter Guide” – Volume 1, Issue 2 – October 2026
“MKZine: Student Voter Guide” is available for viewing online here: https://uwmpost.com/special-projects/mkzine/mkzine-student-voter-guide
