How JD Vance's Hometown Feels About Him After 2024 Election Win Is Sure To Bruise His Ego

It turns out not everybody loves a hometown hero, as JD Vance's home state of Ohio does not seem pleased with him. In an opinion piece written for The Columbus Dispatch, retired editorial writer and columnist Martin Gottlieb doubted that having Vance in the White House would be good for Ohioans, writing that Vance had sold his soul. The hard-hitting editorial must have stung Vance's ego, especially since his memoir "Hillbilly Elegy" (and its subsequent movie adaptation) focused on the soon-to-be Vice President's humble and unrecognizable origins. This is a shame because Gottlieb was quite taken with Vance's portrayal of growing up in Middletown, Ohio, saying that Vance wrote his 2016 memoir "sensitively and intelligently with nuance" and "seemed to be just telling the story with no political agenda." 

But that is not how Gottlieb feels about Vance, who will soon sit in the White House as Donald Trump's number two. The article highlights Vance's inflammatory remarks about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, with Vance claiming that they were abducting and eating pets. Gottlieb wrote that the now-debunked comments inflamed the community and brought threats of violence against local Haitians. The Haitian American Foundation for Democracy was even moved to respond on X, formerly known as Twitter, stating, "This reckless fear-mongering puts vulnerable communities at risk, stokes division, and incites hate crimes." To put a finer point on how Vance acted, Gottlieb wrote, "He was an ogre, apparently for purposes of political advantage."

Perhaps the most ego-bruising insinuation of the entire article is when Martin Gottlieb wrote in The Columbus Dispatch that JD Vance is "a guy who wouldn't put anything past his political adversaries. He'll believe anything." Gottlieb brings up one of Vance's most shady moments, when he likened Donald Trump to Adolf Hitler in 2016, only to make an about-face years later as he welcomed the opportunity to be Trump's ballot mate. Gottlieb wrote, "He didn't simply embrace Trump; he seemed to be trying to convince us — and Trump — that he was a younger version of Trump."

Gottlieb continues his brutal takedown by saying that Vance could change again, depending on the political winds, writing, "This is a young man who gets carried away with new ideas he is exposed to. In a few years, it might be a different set of ideas." And, with rumors that Vance might be getting iced out of Trump's inner circle, we have to wonder if Vance might once again adapt to survive. But the article keeps it local by ending with an assessment of what Vance could mean for Ohio, writing, "It's hard to see any indication he'd put Ohio above Trump. He'd deny that there was any conflict, of course. But that's simply how he plays the game."