Left leaning people hate him for his current alignment to Trump. Right leaning people hate him because he said he was a never trumper back in 2016 and they won't forgive that.
And dude has the personality of a wet rag, so he can't get anyone interested in him.
This is another classic Trump deal turned to shit.
It really is too good to be true. It was such a bad decision by trump, you have to wonder if we're missing something, he's that bad. And it was apparently trumps sons who talked him into it!
We're back to Sarah Palin levels of bad VP pick here. Just wait until we get closer to the election and he starts talking even more.
At least Sarah Palin came with the illusion of bringing a demographic McCain didn't already have in the bag, Vance is just doubling down on the MAGA crowd while alienating a portion of them. It's fantastic
And they likely can't backtrack because Peter Thiel probably made all kinds of financial arrangements with Trump in exchange for making his puppet the VP.
The wannabe billionaire oligarchs went full mask off on destroying our democracy as soon as they thought Trump had it in the bag, and it's time to reap the whirlwind.
They aren't about to back down now that Biden has stepped down. If anything, I expect them to get more desperate and dangerous as we get closer to the election. I totally expect significantly more misinformation, deep fakes, fake news websites, all designed to split democratic support for Kamala Harris, encourage people not to vote, and double down on Trump praise.
Best thing anyone can do is tune it all out and just vote. Don't get too caught up in the politics, because you know your mind is already made up. Do your civic duty, and don't feed the trolls.
I also fully expect them to say this election was stolen if they lose, and attempt to usurp power by any means. So just be ready for that too, it'll be a lot different than last time since they aren't in power.
I also think his ties to Peter Thiel should be emphasized.
Thiel is an immigrant, a banker, a San Francisco resident, an FBI informant, and (worst of all to the Republicans), he's a "groomer" (i.e. he's gay).
How is he tied to JD Vance? He worked directly for Thiel at his VC firm for 2 years. Then, when he ran in 2021, it was Thiel who backed his campaign. This isn't just a guy who has Thiel among his rich backers, this is a guy who is basically owned by Thiel.
Is it horrible for me to say I hope this backfires on Thiel specifically and he gets sent to the reaper? Cause everytime I find out more about Thiel the more he reminds me of the nobles and clans my ancestors killed off in the past for being dangerous.
I'm reading his book hillbilly elegy, it amazes me that someone could go through such terrible things and come out of it with 1) so little self awareness. And 2) so little empathy for others. Especially when my life experience is so similar (I lost my brother to a heroin overdose) and it had the opposite effect.
I think it's heavily made up and he's just a sociopath, a highly ambitious sociopath who will do and say whatever it takes to attain power, ya know your average Republican politician
Unfortunately, those experiences only lend lessons to those willing to accept them. Some people come out hateful, other people seek control they never had previously, it becomes obsessive. Even Ayaan Hirshi Ali has regressed from criticizing oppressive religious groups to full throatedly hating BLM and "wokeism." Disappointments abound in the conservative movement.
Am I the only one who didn't realize the film Hillbilly Elegy was based on this particular guy's memoir? No wonder it left me with a bad taste in my brain.
I remember deciding to watch it back when it was promoted on Netflix (in 2020-21?), going in completely blind to its background and bent, but wooed by the branding of it being "nominated for awards" and the imagery of a frazzled-looking Glenn Close.
I'll try to reflect on what I thought of it then without reference to what I know now: The whole movie was uncomfortable, felt weirdly holier-than-thou, and made me question what was supposed to be so good about how this guy was "overcoming" traumatic circumstances. I don't think I finished it in one go, only doing so because Glenn Close and Amy Adams brought talent to these painfully stereotypified roles. (I had just finished Sharp Objects, so you can imagine how disappointed I was that Amy had to work with so little substance, no pun intended, in this role's storyline.)
I remember thinking I really disliked the actor who played JD Vance for having such flat personality and boring acting skills. As it turns out, the actor did a helluva job! Bravo!
This was one of the first things I watched with my now wife. Right after the lockdowns started. I too went in to it completely blind.
I rolled my eyes all the way through the movie. It was such obvious award bait, I had predicted how the entire plot would play out, beat for beat after about 10 minutes. It was the last time Netflix was allowed to suggest me a movie.
If they'd have included the part where he questions his sexuality and fucks a sofa it might have been better.
If you haven't you should listen to the episode of "If books could kill" about Hillbilly Elegy, it's very enlightening about the kind of person Vance is.
I know it's mostly about his toxic ideas, but it probably doesn't help that he looks like a dude that Canteen Boy wouldn't want to be left alone with on a scouting trip.
I think a big part of it is the "JD Power Rankings"...
It's what kept popping into my head when I saw his name at first. So I'm betting it still does for trump. He hears the name and thinks it's powerful. That's how superficial trump is, whether he realizes it or not, he probably only picked this dude for his name.
I'm liking the dynamics, JDs couchfucking unlikeability will make him lean more into his disingenuous worker advocacy. Causing the dems to meet their ante and retaliate with even more pro-worker policies than before. Could be interesting to watch and lucrative for the ever-gregarious working class!
Trump has to have some dirt on Vance. Trump chooses people based on loyalty first. Vance used to be a Never Trumper, and he's being put in a position where he could Amendment 25 Trump straight out of office on day one and take the job for himself (and even has some plausible reasons for doing so). I don't see Trump giving the job to him without having some insurance.
Does it have to be dirt? I mean, the Republican loyalty machine has determined that people will say quite literally almost anything the party wants the person to say.
Vance strikes me as a more clean-cut Alex Jones type. Not the kind of guy that sits in a tree seat to bow hunt a turkey to eat, but the kind of guy that pays do a canned hunt from a helicopter with a bunch of tacticool gear and an expensive knife, takes pictures of it, and has someone else do all the work of dressing the kill. Talks a tough-guy line, but that’s just it. Talks tough but just does it to get the views.
A phrase said by soldiers in Ukraine at the beginning of Russia's main invasion: "We're lucky they're so fucking stupid." I feel this applies here a bit. It's a good thing Republican strategists aren't all that bright. I chuckled when JD Vance was announced.
This is already obsolete because it turns out Russia still has 3 times more population, N times more money and the war is happening in Ukraine, not in Russia.
And how do we know what people at Russia's helm thought?
Maybe they wanted to brutalize Ukraine so that it wouldn't become a democratic competitor state for Russian speakers, sort of how West Germany and South Korea were. Then ruining the Russian-speaking half of Ukraine, killing so many people there and producing this amount of hate are outcomes useful for that goal.
And then those who think that it's bad for Russia to lose so many men - for Russia as a whole maybe, but the ruling group has gotten itself a very rich supply of thugs, hitmen, candidates for posts and so on. When those people return from war, it's going to be dark. Crime levels, general depression, the amount of shellshocked people. Nobody will feel good enough to question their legitimacy for some time.
3x the population but at least 3x the casualties by conservative estimates, to be fair. Ukraine is clearly winning this war from a strategic standpoint by maximizing their superior education and innovation on the fly. Forget the fact that the nature of playing defense under most situations always lends to a numbers-advantage that most strategists say require 3-to-1 military odds even IF matching strategic parity — which again, Russia is not.
Let's not forget the fact that Ukraine is being bolstered by broader NATO forces, especially the US, UK, France, Germany — all who have far larger economies than Russia. In fact, Russia's economy is smaller than that of the single state of California. Considering how galvanized Western support is for Russia, Ukraine has no financial issues; they also have technological superiority in nearly every aspect of this conflict — air-defense, long-range artillery, and soon to be fighter jets/bombers. Forgetting the fact that NATO intelligence and ISR is clearly superior as well.
Bear in mind the mightier USSR collapsed under a weaker opponent during the Soviet-Afghan War.
You're right that dark times are ahead for Russia, and I sympathize with those who cannot escape. I understand over 1 million people have fled Russia when they could, and that's one of the largest brain-drains since Einstein fled Nazi Germany. I understand that Putin is not just attempting to commit genocide and territorial expansion in Ukraine, but views this scenario as "win-win" because he's always purging dissents and undesireables within Russia itself. Liberals, academics/scholars, political opposition, sincere journalists, ethnic minorities, etc... That is why I expect this war to sadly continue because it's not touching the rule-class of Russia... Yet. Nevertheless I believe Russia will now be relegated to global pariah and its standard-of-living and technological innovation will drop off akin to North Korea.
Edit: If anyone wants me to reply to the user's comment below let me know and I can, but it's not really worth it for me alone short of an audience on the fence.
And how do we know what people at Russia’s helm thought?
Americans will believe just about anything, so long as it's coming from someone on their team.
And then those who think that it’s bad for Russia to lose so many men
As a general rule, losing a big chunk of your youth population is horrible for a whole host of reasons. Hell, a brutal war of attrition on the Russian border was what ultimately brought down the Romanov Government. The Bolsheviks were (somewhat paradoxically) militant anti-war activists.
I don't exactly predict another October Revolution soon. But the long term health and wellness of the Russian Federation is degraded with every month of utterly fruitless artillery exchanges. Ukraine ain't doing too hot, either.
Is it just me, and please correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't this dude just look like a piece of shit? I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but this dude's face screams hate and abuse to me.
Knowing nothing about him, I'd assume he's some wife beating car salesman.
Nah, you got it right. Knowing nothing else about him (my memory and attention seeming to outright reject all of what has been relayed to me) his face is pretty punchable.
I don't know about this, the worst hated one I remember was parodied in a movie about Nazis on the moon. And the parody seemed fairly accurate, there is that.
I liked his book. It was really good and could relate to a lot of it. I absolutely do not agree with his politics and think he took a hard right turn during the Trump administration. Before that he was more a centrist and could even agree with several of his non-social political stances. Since then he's become an absolute wingnut and I would struggle to find a single thing we had any common ground on.
Has anyone else has read Hillbilly Elegy and/or watched the movie (I haven't yet), are you as baffled as I am about his changes in political stances? It just seemed so odd seeing where he came from and turning into what amounts to a proponent of facism.
I tried the movie, thinking it might actually be interesting even if I disagree with his politics. Couldn’t make it past the 15-20 min mark. Found it very trite and… pointless really, unless you’ve never watched a movie about the good natured folks of the country and their toils. Or about making it in life by the grace of God and hard work. This movie will smack you in the face with ‘American values’ any chance it gets. Or so I gathered for the short time I watched it.
Yep I kind of figured that'd be the case hence why I haven't watched it. The book really was pretty good but I'm not sure how that nuance could translate to a movie. Also it's been several years since I read the book and I'm sure my takeaway would be a bit different now seeing what he has done politically since then.