The Atlantic republishes JD Vance’s anti-Trump essay from 10 years ago | JD Vance
The Atlantic on Saturday republished an article by J.D. Vance that dismissed Donald Trump as a “cultural heroin” exactly 10 years ago and highlighted his evolution from presidential critic to vice president.
In an editor’s note, the magazine said it would republish article On the occasion of the 10th anniversary and the US semicentennial, “so our readers can decide for themselves how good his assessment is. [of Trump] … has stood the test of time.”
The original article was published during Trump’s first successful presidential run, when Mike Pence was vice president and before Vance entered politics. At the time, he was working at Mithril Capital Management, Peter Thiel’s venture capital firm, and had recently published Hillbilly Elegy, a best-selling memoir of his Rust belt upbringing that also served as a social commentary on the white working class.
In his article, Vance said that in the midst of a social crisis culminating in growing distrust of government and economic decline, many Americans are turning to Trump as a “painkiller.” He used the phrase “cultural heroin” to describe Trump’s political appeal at the time, saying his supporters would eventually realize he was not the solution to their problems.
Vance wrote that Trump was offering “an easy escape from pain.” “It promises a simple solution to every complex problem.
“He never offers details on how these plans will work because he can’t. Trump’s promises are a needle in America’s collective vein.”
“It makes some people feel better for a while,” Vance continued, “but it can’t fix what’s bothering them, and one day they’ll figure it out.”
That day appears to have arrived, with Trump’s approval level near historic lows during his unpopular mass deportation campaign, failing to cut prices as promised, and helping start a war in Iran along with Israel after promising to avoid new wars, among other issues.
Trump nevertheless marked the 250th anniversary of the United States’ declaration of independence from Britain on Saturday with a speech declaring the country experiencing a “golden age.” This was a day after Zohran Mamdani attacked what he called the burgeoning “communist threat” to the United States, building on his election as mayor of New York City in January, as the democratic socialist political movement gained ground at the polls ahead of midterm elections in November.
Alongside the article, which was republished by the Atlantic on Saturday and quickly went viral, Vance once openly described himself as a “never Trumper” and even described him as “America’s Hitler.” He said Trump was “unfit” for office and was “leading the white working class into a very dark place.”
He then changed his tune dramatically when he ran for the U.S. Senate in Ohio in 2022 and won with Trump’s support. He later became Trump’s running mate in the winning White House campaign in 2024, and Vance said he changed his mind after witnessing the consequences of Trump’s policies before his first presidency ended in defeat to Joe Biden.
Vance, now a fierce defender of the president, is expected to compete alongside U.S. secretary of state Marco Rubio to succeed Trump.
Senior Atlantic editor David Frum, who knew Vance early in his political career he told NPR It tells about the limits that politicians set for themselves in 2024 and do not exceed for the sake of their careers.
“I think it went from there,” Frum said of Vance during that year’s election. “I think he told us ahead of time what it was. It was Donald Trump and he went over it.”
