Former President Donald Trump has selected a running mate for the November election, Republican Senator of Ohio and author of Hillbilly Elegy JD Vance, who has made his anti-LGBTQ+ stance extremely clear.
Trump, who was the target of an assassination attempt on July 13, made the announcement a few days later on Monday. Vance, a first-term senator and former venture capitalist, was widely expected to take the VP spot on the ballot, beating out other big-name hopefuls including Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), U.S. House Rep. Elise Stefanink (R-N.Y.), and former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.
Vance formally portrayed himself as a Trump critic and publicly said he did not vote for him in the 2016 election. He previously referred to himself as a “never Trump guy” in 2016. While Trump was in office, Vance was a harsh critic, calling him “dangerous” and “unfit.”
“I go back and forth between thinking Trump is a cynical a*shole like Nixon who wouldn’t be that bad (and might even prove useful) or that he’s America’s Hitler,” Vance wrote privately to an associate on Facebook in 2016.
In 2021, he reversed his positioning, claiming to regret his previous stance while running for Senate. During his past two years in office, Vance has stood staunch on the MAGA model.
Vance opposes gay marriage. He has stated he would have voted against the Respect for Marriage Act, which was passed in 2022 and cemented further protections for same-sex marriage.
The 39-year-old has also proposed a complete ban on all gender-affirming care for minors throughout the U.S. The legislation, known as the Protect Children’s Innocence Act, would ban federal funding for gender-affirming treatments and care. Caretakers who are found in breach of the law would face a $250,000 fine and have their license revoked. It was introduced last year, but has not passed into law.
“Under no circumstances should doctors be allowed to perform these gruesome, irreversible operations on underage children,” Vance said in a statement after announcing the proposed act.
Those who have voiced opposition about these bills have been called “groomers” by Vance. In 2022, he tweeted out the anti-LGBTQ+ slur, which has been weaponized by the far-right in an attempt to paint drag queens and the LGBT community in a harmful light.
I'll stop calling people "groomers" when they stop freaking out about bills that prevent the sexualization of my children.
— J.D. Vance (@JDVance1) April 6, 2022
Vance also opposes LGBT+ discrimination protections and diversity and inclusion in the U.S. armed forces. “American political leaders should stop using America’s military as a social justice side project,” his 2022 campaign site reads. “Troops don’t need to focus on diversity or equity or any other progressive buzzword; they need to focus on fighting and winning America’s wars.”
Trump’s pick has been denounced by multiple LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations, including The Human Rights Campaign and GLAAD.
“Donald Trump has been a bully for years – and his pick of MAGA clone JD Vance is a reminder that nothing has changed,” said Kelley Robinson, Human Rights Campaign President. “We are not simply choosing between two campaigns. We are choosing between two fundamentally different visions of America.”
