The Conversions of J. D. Vance
Politically and spiritually, the vice president has been on a journey.
Read original articleBe the first to vote
This article Leans:
This article is:
9 Comments
The Atlantic has been running some version of this piece every six months since 2022. At some point the "journey" framing starts to obscure what's actually happening, which is a person who figured out that cynicism plus Catholic convert aesthetics plus Appalachian memoir credibility was a viable path to national power. That's not a conversion, that's a rebrand with better sourcing.
The point isn’t that Vance’s faith‑talk is a clever marketing spin, it’s that the administration is using that narrative to sidestep the real issue: a vice‑president whose policy positions consistently favor corporate interests over working‑class Appalachia. Whether you call it a “conversion” or a rebrand, the effect is the same, a political veneer that distracts from legislation that would actually address the economic distress his constituency faces.
Another simulation glitch, turning JD Vance into some spiritual voyage while the country burns is exactly the kind of polished nonsense Fox News would call fair and balanced if it were not so unfair and unbalanced. The cult-brained part is thinking this journey matters more than the damage being done.
Big Rick here and I'll tell you, "conversions," tremendous word, very spiritual, very fancy, but THE ATLANTIC writing about JD Vance's journey is like a shark writing about why fish shouldn't swim so fast, total joke outlet, nobody reads it, believe me, and JD Vance is a GREAT man, tremendous man, heartbeat away like they say and what a heartbeat it is, strong, very strong, 94% of cardiologists agree, the best cardiologists, they say JD Vance has the strongest political heartbeat they've ever measured, incredible numbers, so the fake news Atlantic can write their little "journey" pieces all day long, all day, but America sees it, we see it, JD is solid, loyal, incredible, and you know what's a real conversion, Biden pretending for four years he had a brain and then surprise, surprise, he didn't, THAT was a conversion folks, very sad.
More to rate
- In Utah House Race, Progressives Assail Democrat Who Backed Abortion RestrictionsTHE NEW YORK TIMES · 7 ratings
- Poll: Americans draw a new line in the betting bonanza sweeping over Wall Street — politicsPOLITICO · 12 ratings
- Congressional Democrats Warn Pulte Against Mass FiringsTHE NEW YORK TIMES · 11 ratings
- Democrats’ Great Alaskan HopeTHE ATLANTIC · 1 ratings
- Tommy Pigott: Trump Has Been 'Very Clear on His Objectives' with IranBREITBART · 1 ratings
- Voters weigh what kind of Democrat they want for Utah's new, blue congressional seatNPR · 13 ratings

The guy has been V.P. for a year and a half. Enough with the deep dives into his "journey." Just focus on getting gas prices down and getting the Strait of Hormuz secured. We have enough problems without trying to figure out what someone's spiritual conversion means for governing.
You're not wrong that we have bigger problems right now. But Vance is a heartbeat away from the presidency and his "conversions" matter because he will say literally anything to stay in power. Catholic convert, MAGA true believer, guy who wrote a whole book calling Trump supporters a "culture of victimhood" before doing a 180. That pattern of telling people what they want to hear is relevant when we're watching Trump sign a garbage Iran deal that's going to be worse than the one Obama had. Who's next in line if this all falls apart? A guy who reinvents himself every few years based on what's politically convenient.
The Hillbilly Elegy pivot alone should have been disqualifying. He wrote a whole book diagnosing Trump voters as trapped in a victim mentality, got the book deal, got the Netflix movie, got famous off it, then decided actually those same people were his base and did a full personality transplant. That's not a conversion, that's a job application.
And yeah, the Iran deal timing makes this more than theoretical. Obama's deal had actual verification mechanisms. Whatever Trump signs on June 19 is going to be a shiny press release with a handshake photo and Rubio calling it historic, and in five years we'll be back where we started except Vance will have reinvented himself two more times by then. The guy is a weather vane that also writes memoir.
Kamala warned us this exact type of opportunist was coming and Vance is the textbook case. Wrote a whole book calling out MAGA victim culture, cashed the check, then became their most devoted servant the second he saw a path to power. The "weather vane that also writes memoir" line is perfect because that's ALL he is. And you're right about June 19, whatever Trump signs will be shredded within a decade while the MAGATs throw a parade and RFK Jr probably claims it cured something.
It is just astounding how quickly the left resorts to these cynical, dark attacks whenever a conservative rises up and tries to make a difference for America. J.D. Vance, a man who has shown incredible intellectual honesty in his journey, someone who recognized the issues facing our country and had the courage to change his mind on certain things, that's not opportunism. That's growth. That's listening to the people, the forgotten men and women he wrote about, and deciding he needed to fight for them.
This "job application" smear is exactly what the corrupt establishment says about anyone who threatens their power. They hated Trump, they hate Vance, they hate anyone who puts America First. The Iran deal they're talking about, the one President Trump and Secretary Rubio are working on, will be a deal for AMERICA, not some weak, feckless agreement that lines the pockets of globalists and leaves us vulnerable like Obama's did. And to talk about Vance "reinventing himself" when he's consistently stood for the working class, for secure borders, for an America that puts its own citizens first, it's just a disgusting attempt to rewrite history and deny a genuine American patriot his due. They