commentary

The vice president drops the Christian act, but he still fails at bullying Democrats

Published October 21, 2026 6:45AM (EDT)

Vice President JD Vance speaks during a campaign rally on Oct. 13, 2026 in Tyler, Texas. (Saul Loeb-Pool/Getty Images)

Theories abound as to why JD Vance, once a promising Yale Law graduate with a best-selling memoir, went MAGA. Some argue that it was always a mistake to confuse the vice president’s cosmopolitanism for intellectual sophistication, pointing out that “Hillbilly Elegy” is a bad book that panders to ugly right-wing stereotypes about his working class family of origin. Others suggest he is an empty shell who will become whatever it takes to gain money and power, as evidenced by his constantly shifting attitudes about race and religion . The truth likely falls in the “why not both?” arena.…