Ohio Republican Senator J.D. Vance was officially selected as former President Donald Trump's running mate for November's election, a development that has brought further attention to a remark he made to a former Yale Law School roommate suggesting Trump could be "America's Hitler."
The roommate in question is Josh McLaurin, a Democrat who serves as a member of the Georgia State Senate and represents the state's 14th district, a seat once held by former President Jimmy Carter.
McLaurin took to X, formerly Twitter, to let the world know about Vance's true character, writing:
"I’m the guy JD Vance sent the 'America’s Hitler' text to in 2016. He was my roommate in law school. Obviously he’s a sellout, but the bigger deal is he’s angry and vindictive. The perfect fit for Trump’s revenge."
"JD’s rise is a triumph for angry jerks everywhere."
You can see McLaurin's post below.
Many concurred.
McLaurin's post came as Vance continues to face accusations of hypocrisy for having once been a major Trump critic, a fact Trump seemed willing to overlook as he named Vance his running mate.
In 2016, Vance frequently criticized Trump in interviews tied to his bestselling memoir, Hillbilly Elegy, which had positioned him as a notable voice on rural America and Trump’s ascent in politics. He argued that the then-Republican presidential nominee offered empty promises that wouldn’t address the problems plaguing communities like his hometown in Ohio.
In fact, at one point he referred to Trump as "cultural heroin," asserting that Trump "cannot fix what ails them, and one day they’ll realize it."
Additionally, Vance once labeled himself as a “Never Trump guy” and referred to Trump as an “idiot” in tweets that have since been deleted. During an August 2016 NPR interview, he mentioned that he might consider voting for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton if he believed Trump had a chance of winning.
Prior to his Senate campaign, Vance apologized for previously calling Trump “reprehensible," telling CNN in 2021 that "I regret being wrong about the guy" while declaring that Trump was a good president.
Vance recently showed his support for Trump by standing with him at a New York courthouse during the former president’s hush money trial, which concluded with Trump's conviction on 34 felony charges of falsifying business records.
Vance has also expressed a different interpretation of the constitutional limits on a vice president’s role in certifying election results compared to former Vice President Mike Pence, who incurred Trump’s anger in January 2021 by refusing to interfere with the certification of electoral votes for then-candidate Joe Biden.
@jaketapoer/Bluesky
@BillAckman/Twitter