JD Vance’s pitch to “real” America is a simple one: I get you, he says, because I’m one of you.
Vance differentiates himself from the rich coastal elites by leaning on his upbringing, as detailed in the memoir that brought him to public notice, Hillbilly Elegy. He was raised in Middletown, Ohio – with trips to his family’s ancestral homeland of Kentucky – largely by his grandmother, “Mamaw”.
His mother was a drug addict, his father was almost entirely absent, and everyone was poor. Vance can claim to understand the struggles of ordinary Americans because, unlike most people in US politics, he has actually lived through them. That’s part of the story Vance hopes will carry him to the presidency in 2029 – but it’s a tale that’s getting harder for him to tell.
The trouble is that vice presidents don’t live like the rest of us, and JD Vance in particular seems to live lavishly as Donald Trump’s right-hand man. On Sunday, visitors to Hampton Court Palace – once home of King Henry VIII – were left waiting for hours as the entire site was closed so that Vance and his family could visit and take the tour.
Vance, who had arrived in a 19-car motorcade, can of course claim that the Secret Service, who are in charge of security for the president and top US officials, insist on such precautions and they are outside of his control, but living life constantly surrounded by a motorcade and an entourage surely detaches one from reality. Part of the trouble for him is that he seems to be making a habit of lavish demands around the world.
In Italy, Vance – who styles himself as a devout Catholic – pushed for a meeting with an ailing Pope Francis, succeeding on the second day, only for Francis to die just a day later. On that same visit, the Secret Service shut down the entire Colosseum for Vance, only for the Vice President to decide that he wasn’t going to visit it after all.
Vance risks making a habit of leaving a trail of furious tourists behind him across the world, but for a Maga politician, annoying foreigners might even be a political plus. The same is harder to say closer to home. Earlier this month, Vance celebrated his 41st birthday and decided he would like to mark the occasion by going kayaking in his native Ohio.
So far, so relatable – until Vance’s security detail demanded that the US Army Corps of Engineers release water from Caesar Creek Lake in southwest Ohio to raise the water level of the Little Miami River, to make the kayaking trip possible. That’s not an option available to most of us when we’re getting back in touch with nature.
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It shouldn’t come as a shock that JD Vance is developing a taste for luxury. After his Yale education, Vance worked for a time in venture capital, for the tech oligarch Peter Thiel. He has an ongoing relationship with the far-right guru and former tech founder Curtis Yarvin, who openly calls for an American monarchy to replace what he sees as a failed democracy in the US.
Perhaps, then, JD Vance was visiting Hampton Court Palace for ideas. After all, Henry VIII was a monarch who defined himself as a devout Catholic – only to sensationally break with the Catholic Church for selfish ends, when he wanted to secure a divorce so he could sire a male heir and continue his dynasty. Vance, who converted to Catholicism as an adult, shortly before entering politics, has been similarly disillusioned with the leaders of his adopted faith when they’ve clashed with Maga. Vance might see something he likes in the life of Henry VIII.
Or it might not be so deep. For all that Vance’s political career relies upon “real America”, he is certainly at home among the global elite. Vance publicly railed against Europe in his first major speech as Vice President, but happily spent the weekend at Chevening, the official country residence of the UK foreign secretary, with David Lammy. He is happy to leave long lines of tourists cursing his name as he gets private tours of royal homes. His wife and children did, at least, get to enjoy the Colosseum in total peace in his absence.
JD Vance tells Americans he’s one of them even as he socialises with an elite that would make him an American monarch – but his taste for the finer things might get in the way of his ambitions. Vance might see himself as a Henry VIII type ruler for the ages, but he might all too easily end up being more like a modern-day cautionary tale – a Marie Antoinette, if you will.
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