Overview

• A ZDF documentary released on June 24 examines Vance’s shift from Trump critic to vice president and highlights growing alarm over his radical views.
• Dr. Liana Fix of the Council on Foreign Relations and former Munich Security Conference head Christoph Heusgen caution that Vance’s clear-cut ideology may pose a greater threat than President Trump’s unpredictable approach.
• Vance’s 2016 best-selling memoir 'Hillbilly Elegy' drew national attention to his working-class upbringing in Middletown, Ohio, and positioned him as a voice for disaffected voters.
• Since converting to Catholicism in 2019, Vance has championed uncompromising policies, notably advocating for mass deportations under his hardline immigration stance.
• Strategic alliances with figures like Peter Thiel and Donald Trump Jr. accelerated his ascent and solidified his role as a central MAGA architect in the administration.