What has JD Vance written about state, national issues?
The nation will soon know Sen. J.D. Vance far better than it does now.
Donald Trump announced the Middletown native as his running mate today.
The "Hillbilly Elegy," author is already very well known to Ohioans and is a frequent subject of guest columns and letters to the editor submitted to this publication.
Most submissions have been critical. Vance has also penned several guest columns.
Who is J.D. Vance?
Vance was raised in a poverty and abuse-stricken household, chronicled in his bestselling "Hillbilly Elegy," which delved into his criticism of politics and the effectiveness of their policies on the working class. His resulting fame from the novel catapulted him into celebrity status.
Back in 2016, Vance was cynical of Trump.
"I go back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical asshole like Nixon who wouldn't be that bad (and might even prove useful) or that he's America's Hitler," Vance wrote. "How's that for discouraging?"
When he decided to run for Senate in 2022, Vance started to support the presumptive GOP nominee for president. Vance enlisted his own connections to Silicon Valley to garner campaign backing, connections he now extends to Trump.
Vance has even built a strong relationship with Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., who supports Vance as his pick for vice president.
Vance will hurt Trump's chances. Ohio junior senator isn't ready to be VP.
Trump gave Vance his endorsement in the 2022 Senate race, which helped Vance ultimately win the seat.
Two years later, Vance stands strong as a Trump supporter, supporting him through his recent trial in Manhattan, his immunity case with the Supreme Court and even helping the former president to fundraise in the state.
J.D. Vance: 'I will be damned' if Ukraine prioritized over 'Tsunami of illegal migrants'
"I will be damned if I am going to prioritize Ukraine’s eastern border right now when our own southern border is engulfed by a human tsunami of illegal migrants.
For context, approximately 200,000 Russian troops have invaded Ukraine, which is a tragedy and inexcusable. As Christians, we pray for the innocent Ukrainian people witnessing war in their backyards. Concurrently, at the U.S. southern border, we endure that many illegal trespassers pouring into our homeland every month.
Our Senate met in an all-night session to swiftly send $14 billion to assist Ukraine in its border battle, but could not be bothered for $4 billion to build a wall to defend America’s border?
In addition to the millions of unvetted illegal immigrants crossing our border, a torrent of deadly narcotics enters as well, particularly fentanyl. This influx has devastated our communities, flooding ERs and funeral homes with overdosed Americans. "
Read the full column: 'I will be damned' if Ukraine prioritized over 'tsunami of illegal migrants'
Vance: Biden has ignored Ohio's pleas for help. Response to East Palestine is 'inexcusable.'
"The responsibility for preventing the next derailment disaster falls upon me and my colleagues in Congress as well as federal regulators, not to mention the railroad industry itself.
While railway safety legislation advances in the Capitol, the Biden administration and Norfolk Southern must double their efforts to remediate the impacts of the East Palestine derailment.
President Biden may have forgotten East Palestine’s tragedy, but its citizens will never forget his administration’s failed leadership. It’s past time for the president to right his wrongs and deliver the relief East Palestine needs.
I’ll never stop fighting for East Palestine. There is much work to be done."
Read the full column here: Vance: Biden has ignored Ohio's pleas for help. Response to East Palestine is 'inexcusable.'
J.D. Vance: Biden, 'unholy alliance' coming for our guns, other 'cherished American liberties' next
"Worryingly, perhaps the biggest threat to the Second Amendment comes not from the Biden Administration, but from some of our biggest companies.
"Blackrock, one of the world’s largest money managers, recently began buying large numbers of single-family homes. And they have threatened to make it hard for their renters to own firearms.
Meanwhile, many of the biggest payments processors in the world have made it impossible to buy firearms, and credit card companies have openly discussed doing the same.
This is insane: giving our biggest companies the right to dictate which rights American citizens are allowed to exercise. Yet the Biden administration won’t offer an ounce of push back. Indeed, they may even cheer as our multinational corporations tell Americans and Ohioans how to live their lives.
Unfortunately, the unholy alliance between government and business won’t stop at the Second Amendment.
Eventually, they’ll come for other cherished American liberties, too."
Read the column: J.D. Vance: Biden, 'unholy alliance' coming for our guns, other 'cherished American liberties' next
"J.D. Vance: Ohio State's vaccine mandate is outrageous 'invasion of medical privacy'"
"Some of us have received the vaccine and others haven’t; some of us have encouraged friends and relatives in high risk categories to receive it. But the decision to not get vaccinated is often rooted in caution about long-term risks, not a rejection of science or the severity of COVID. That caution must be allowed in a free society, not stamped out through mandates.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, our society needs to respect bodily autonomy and family choice.
In the last year, we’ve lost thousands of our fellow citizens to a new pandemic, had our leaders openly question (and now suggest) that it came from a lab leak, and upended our lives. The world has moved so fast, and our leaders should treat their fellow citizens as people trying to figure out how to do the right thing, not as enemies of science who need to be ordered around."
Link: Ohio State's vaccine mandate is outrageous 'invasion of medical privacy'
JD Vance, D.J. Swearingen: Google 'suppressing' politicians like Ted Cruz, 'COVID treatments' supporters
"Google and its subsidiary YouTube have a long odious record of discriminating against and suppressing political figures and viewpoints they dislike—from Sen. Ted Cruz and Rep. Darrell Issa to pro-life advocates and supporters of COVID treatments.
As a common carrier, Google will be obligated to refrain from discrimination not only against competitors, but also against users.
This means that Google and its subsidiary, YouTube, will no longer be able to discriminate on the basis of their political or religious views. A favorable court ruling could be the beginning of a sea of change for internet fairness in Ohio—indeed the country."
Read the column: JD Vance, D.J. Swearingen: Google 'suppressing' politicians like Ted Cruz, 'COVID treatments' supporters
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Who is JD Vance? What did Trump VP pick say about guns, immigration?
